UC-NRLF 


le 


£5 


pi 

U 


THE  SIBEMAM 
CREAMEMY    - 
ASSOCIATIOM 


'<rf 


")•> 


UNION  OF  THE  SIBERIAN  CREAMERY  and 
OTHER  CO-OPERATIVE  ASSOCIATIONS 
and  THE  COUNTRY  SERVED  BY 
THIS  ORGANIZATION 


Compiled  by  the  Section  of  Economical  Statistics  of  the 

Board  of  the  Union  of  the  Siberian  Creamery 

Associations,  May  1919,  Omsk,  Siberia 


Boston,  Mass.,  U.  S.  A. 
1919 


^  ^  Us- 


Translated  from  Russian  by 
ALEXANDER    LOGOFET 

Gi' 


.'<<> ' 


PREFACE 

The  World  War  has  wrought  great  changes  in  the  mutual  relations 
of  nations.  Old  economic  ties  are  broken;  new  political  attractions  have 
been  created;  new  paths  are  dimly  seen  in  the  spheres  of  trade,  finance, 
and  human  intercourse  generally. 

After  the  terrible  storm  and  thunder,  nations  have  awakened  to  a  new 
life  which  must  be  built  upon  a  better  and  firmer  foundation.  To  accom- 
plish this  they  must  know  of  the  conditions  of  life  in  different  countries 
and  also  about  the  great  economic  organizations  of  other  nations. 

Regenerated  Siberia,  which  more  than  a  year  ago  threw  off  the  ter- 
rible yoke  of  Bolshevism,  is  endeavouring  to  establish  commercial  relations 
with  those  industrial  nations  which  promise  her  the  possibility  of  an  active 
exchange  of  merchandise. 

The  oldest  and  greatest  purely  peasant  organization  in  Siberia, — The 
Union  of  the  Siberian  Creamery  and  other  Co-operative  Associations — 
which  has  been  working  for  over  ten  years  in  the  market  of  Great  Britain, 
has  now  greatly  extended  its  activities,  and  has  decided  to  publish  this 
book  to  acquaint  the  interested  business  people  of  the  United  States, 
Canada,  and  England  with  Western  Siberia,  and  to  supply  a  short  descrip- 
tion of  the  people's  co-operative  organization. 

The  Union  of  the  Siberian  Creamery  Associations  has  bravely  shoul- 
dered the  difficulties  of  stormy  times,  and  now,  making  strides  toward 
a  better  future  for  the  people  of  Siberia,  it  is  anxious  to  promote  strong 
ties  between  the  rural  inhabitants  of  Siberia  and  the  financial  and  indus- 
trial circles  of  America  and  England. 

We  shall  feel  rewarded  if  this  book  helps  ever  so  little  this  great 
work  of  mutual  understanding  and  knowledge. 

JOSEPH  K.  OKULITCH,  Grad.  A^r.  Eng. 
General  Manager  for  Western  Europe  and  America  of  the 
Union  of  the  Siberian  Creamery  and  other  Co-operative  Associations, 

Boston,  Mass.,  U.  S.  A. 
October  1,  1919. 


INDEX  OF  CHARTS 

1.  Physical  Map. 

2.  Soils. 

3.  Isotherms  and  annual  precipitation. 

4.  Isotherms  and  summer  precipitation. 

5.  Isotherms  and  winter  precipitation. 

6.  Vegetation  of  Western  Siberia. 

7.  Population  of  Western  Siberia. 

8.  Races  of  Western  Siberia. 

9.  Ways  and  communications  of  Western  Siberia. 

10.  Trades  and  occupations  of  Western  Siberia. 

11.  Mineral  Deposits  of  Western  Siberia. 


COMPARATIVE   TABLE   OF   RUSSIAN   AND   AMERICAN   MONEY 

AND  MEASURES 

Rouble  in  gold 51.46  cents 

$ 1.94  roubles 

pood  (40  Russ.  pounds) 36.1  English  pounds 

short  ton  (55.41  Russ.  poods) 2000  English  pounds 

long  ton  (62.06  Russ.  poods) 2240  English  pounds 

metric  ton  (61  Russ.  poods) 2204.7  English  pounds 

desiatina 2.705  acres 

aci'e 0.37   desiatines 

versta 0.663  miles 

mile 1.508  versts 


"THE  UiNION  OF  THE  SIBERIAN  CREAMERY  AND 
OTHER  CO-OPERATIVE  ASSOCIATIONS" 

AND 
THE  COUiNTRY  SERVED  BY  THIS  ORGANIZATION 


Organization.  The  Union  of  the  Siberian  Creamery  and  other  Co- 
operative Associations,  on  January  1st,  1919,  combined  about  2100  butter- 
making  associations  and  2300  co-operative  stores. 

The  membership  of  these  organizations  is  composed  of  about  600,000 
heads  of  peasant  and  Cossack  households  of  Western  Siberia,  comprising 
about  42%  of  the  whole  population  of  the  territory  where  the  Union  of 
the  Siberian  Creamery  Associations  has  its  creameries  and  stcres. 

In  its  activities  the  Union  covers  the  entire  region  of  the  Siberian 
butter-making  industry,  which  sprang  up  about  a  quarter  of  a  century 
ago  and  which,  during  the  twenty  years  prior  to  the  World  War,  de- 
veloped to  gigantic  proportions  in  the  northwestern  part  of  the  Asiatic 
continent,  called  Western  Siberia.  It  now  occupies  the  southern  third  of 
Western  Siberia,  equalling  in  size  one-third  of  the  whole  United  States. 

The  Siberian  Butter-making  District.  The  Siberian  butter-making 
district  is  situated  in  the  southern  part  of  the  river  Obi  basin,  between 
the  southern  part  of  the  Ural  Mountains  and  the  Altai  mountain  region, 
the  latter  being  also  a  part  of  the  butter-making  district.  On  the  accom- 
panying maps  it  will  be  seen  that  the  butter-making  industry  of  Siberia 
thrives  between  59  and  86  degrees  east  longitude  (Greenwich). 
The  western  and  middle  part  of  the  district  lies  between  57  and 
53  degrees  north  latitude,  and  the  eastern  part  of  the  district  lies  between 
49  and  56  degrees  north  latitude. 

The  Boundaries  of  the  Butter-making  District.  On  the  western  side, 
the  district  joins  the  great  wooded  mountains  of  the  Urals.  With  its 
comparatively  dense  population  this  territory  does  not  allow  :he  cattle  as 
much  freedom  as  is  necessary  to  develop  butter  making  according  to  the 
Siberian  system  of  dairying.  On  the  north  the  district  is  bounded  by 
the  wooded  expanse  of  Western  Siberia,  where  the  natural  conditions  do 
not  favour  the  development  of  butter  making,  the  scanty  population 
deriving  sufficient  means  of  livelihood  from  lishing,  hunting  and  lumbering. 
The  eastern  side  joins  the  severe  mountains  and  forests  of  the  eastern 
Altai  range,  inhabited  by  semi-wild  tribes.     The  southern  side  touches 


THE   UNION   OF  THE   SIBERIAN   CREAMERY 


the  territory  of  nomadic  Kirghyz,  where  the  peculiar  mode  of  living  makes 
butter-making  a  difficult  proposition. 

It  will  easily  be  noted  on  the  map  that  the  western  part  of  the  district 
of  Siberian  butter-making  represents  a  strip  about  500  kilometers  on  both 
sides  of  the  Trans-Siberian  railway,  while  the  eastern  part  broadens 
toward  the  south  along  the  navigable  rivers  of  Irtysh  and  Obi,  with  rail- 
ways which  branch  off  the  main  line, — the  Koulunda  railroad  (from 
Tatarsk  to  Slavgorod)  and  the  Altai  railroad  (from  Novo-Nikolaievsk  to 
Semipalatinsk).  The  reason  is  clear.  Butter  is  a  very  perishable  product 
and  does  not  stand  long  transportation  by  horses;  experience;  has  shown 
that  no  butter  factory  should  be  farther  than  200  or  250  kiloirieters  from 
a  railroad  or  waterway. 

Administrative  Composition  of  the  Butter-making  District.  The  fol- 
lowing administrative  units  are  within  the  boundaries  of  the  Siberian 
butter-making  district: 

Government  of:  Districts: 

r  Cheliabinsk 
Orenburg  |  Troitzk 

I   Verkhne  Uralsk  (partly) 

Province  of  Tourgai  Koustanai  (northern  part) 

Perm  Shadrinsk  (eastern  part.) 

f  Yalutorovsk 
I   Kourgan 
Tobolsk  I   Ishim 

Tiukalinsk 
[  Tara  (southern  part) 

f  Petropavlovsk 
Province  of  Akmolinsk       |  Omsk 

I   Kokchetav  (major  part) 

Ust-Kamennogorsk 

Province  of  Semipalatinstcj   Semipalatinsk 

I   Pavlodar  (partly) 


Zaisan  (partly) 


^  Kainsk 
Tomsk  \  Novo-Nikolaievsk 

Tomsk 

All  districts  of  the 
^•^^^  Government. 

The  outline  of  the  butter-making  district  of  Siberia  can  re-idily  be  seen 
on  the  map. 

8 


AND  OTHER  CO-OPERATIVE   ASSOCIATIONS 


The    Dimensions    of    the    District  of    Siberian    Butter-making.     The 

greatest  span  is  from  west  to  east,  and  equals  2000  versts,  oi-  2136  kilo- 
meters, or  1325  English  miles.  The  width  of  the  eastern  part  is  800  versts 
(855  kilometers,  or  531  miles)  ;  of  the  western  part,  500  versts,  (534 
kilometers,  or  331  miles).  The  area  is  about  1,144,000  square  versts 
(1,307,000  square  kilometers,  or  502,000  square  miles.) 

Configuration  of  the  Land.  The  small  western  part  of  the  district  is 
hilly,  being  the  foreground  of  the  Ural  mountain  region.  It  rises  to  a 
height  of  from  200  to  500  meters  above  sea  level.  The  southern  part 
of  the  district  includes  the  northern  part  of  the  Kirghyz  ridg;/  land.  The 
northern  boundary  line  of  this  land  turns  toward  the  north  in  its  western 
part;  in  the  east  it  bears  southward.  The  higher  part  of  thi",  elevation, 
known  by  the  name  of  the  Mountains  of  Kokchetav,  is  situated  east  of 
the  I'iver  Ishim.  This  part  is  a  collection  of  separate  granite  mountains, 
heavily  wooded  with  pines  and  interspaced  with  undulating  steppe 
valleys,  covered  with  grass.  These  mountains  do  not  rise  to  a  height  of 
moi-e  than  945  meters  within  the  district. 

South  of  the  river  Obi,  and  of  its  branch,  the  Alei,  and  the  upper 
flow  of  the  Irtysh,  is  situated  the  mountainous  region  of  Altai,  gradually 
rising  toward  the  south  and  east.  The  highest  part  of  the  Russian  Altai 
is  along  the  upper  flow  of  the  river  Katun,  where  the  highest  summit  of 
the  range  is  found, — the  Beloukha,  14,800  feet  above  sea  level. 

The  Altai  range  embraces  a  whole  maze  of  mountain  ranges,  covered 
by  eternal  snows,  with  sliding  glaciers,  swift  mountain  rivers,  and  deep 
canyons.  From  the  Altai  proper  toward  the  north  the  Salair  range 
branches  off  between  the  rivers  Obi  and  Tom  and  the  range  of  Kouznetzky 
Alataou  on  the  western  side  of  the  river  Tom.  Both  ranges  decrease  in 
height  toward  the  northward,  and  gradually  merge  into  plain.;. 

The  remainder  of  the  district  is  located  in  the  great  west  Siberian 
lowlands,  which  stretch  northward  to  the  Arctic  Ocean,  and  in  the  south 
reach,  in  the  western  part  of  the  district,  54  degrees  north  latitude,  and  in 
the  eastern  part,  near  Semipalatinsk  and  the  river  Irtysh,  50  degrees 
north  latitude. 

In  the  southwestern  part  of  the  lowlands,  the  highest  elev.ition  reaches 
105  sajenes,  or  230  meters,  above  the  sea  level,  and  falls  lower  toward  the 
north  and  east,  rising  again  in  the  direction  from  the  Irtysh  toward  the 
Obi. 

The  surface  of  the  lowlands  is  mostly  even,  having  only  in  the  southern 
part  narrow  and  long  ridges  from  twenty  to  fifty  feet  in  height,  which 
run  from  due  west-southwest  to  east-northeast.  The  general  relief  of  the 
country  can  be  seen  from  Chart  No.  1. 

Geological  Aspect  of  the  District.  In  the  mountainous  parts  of  the 
district,  near  the  Altai  range,  on  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  Urals  and  on 
the  edge  of  the  Kirghyz  hilly  region  are  observed  outcrops  of  stone  layers 

9 


10 


AND  OTHER  CO-OPERATIVE   ASSOCIATIONS 


of  most  diverse  geological  epochs,  from  the  granites  and  gneiss  to  sea 
formations  of  the  Tertiary  period.  In  the  region  which  adjoins  the  Urals 
more  recent  formations  are  met  with,  of  the  cretaceous  and  Tertiary 
epochs,  though  the  outcrops  of  granite  are  also  in  evidence. 

In  the  stratified  Kirghyz  region  elevations,  bared  of  more  recent  de- 
posits, consist  of  ancient  granites,  gneiss,  syenites,  diorites,  and  porphyries. 
Lower  down  on  the  slopes  and  in  the  areas  between  the  elevations,  deposits 
of  more  recent  epochs  are  to  be  found.  Devonian  quartzites  and  shists, 
carboniferous  strata,  and  oligocene  sea  deposits. 

In  the  Altai  Mountains  are  observed  outcrops  of  various  rocks,  mostly 
of  the  Cambrian,  Devonian,  and  carboniferous  epochs,  with  occasional 
outcrops  of  gneiss  and  granites.  The  crystal  shists  are  mostly  found  in 
the  Altai. 

The  western  Siberian  lowland  is  a  great  hollow,  filled  up  in  its  southern 
part  with  tertiary  sea  formations,  not  older  than  the  Oligocene  period, 
tertiary  formations  of  Miocene  and  Pliocene  epochs  and  quaternary  fresh- 
water deposits. 

All  these  formations  are  running  in  horizontal,  unbroken  strata,  and 
are  mostly  soft  and  apt  to  crumble,  belonging  to  clays,  sand,  and  clayey 
soils;  hard  and  semi-hard  formations,  such  as  sandstone,  shists,  etc., 
are  seldom  found. 

How  deep  these  soft,  friable  formations  are  is  not  known.  It  has  been 
ascertained,  however,  that  in  the  locality  due  north  from  the  Ishym,  about 
55  degrees  north  latitude,  the  bore  went  down  as  far  as  320  meters  with- 
out meeting  hard  rock,  passing  all  the  way  through  soft  and  friable 
deposits. 

The  western  brim  of  this  great  bowl  reaches,  approximately,  the 
longitude  of  Cheliabinsk,  while  the  eastern  brim  touches  the  river  Obi,  and 
the  southern  side  runs  along  the  edge  of  the  Kirghyz  ridgy  land,  where 
granites  crop  out  from  under  the  layers  of  soft  soils. 

Mineral  Wealth.  The  deposits  of  useful  minerals  are  distributed  in 
accordance  with  geological  formations. 

Along  the  western,  eastern  and  southern  boundaries  of  the  district, 
where  outcrops  of  old  hard  rocks  are  found,  there  are  also  deposits  of  ores. 
In  the  middle  part  of  the  district  and  on  the  northern  boundary,  where  old 
rocks  are  covered  with  deep  layers  of  later  deposits,  the  location  and  work- 
ing of  ore  are  impossible.  In  the  Ural  district  are  found  deposits  of  alluvial 
gold,  which  are  commercially  worked  near  the  railway  station  of  Miass, 
due  west  of  Cheliabinsk,  and  also  in  some  other  places.  Quartz  gold  is 
worked  in  Kochkars,  near  the  town  of  Troitzk.  Near  Cheliabinsk  deposits 
of  coal  are  worked.  In  several  places  in  the  Ural  region  fire  clays,  gypsum, 
limestone,  iron  ore,  and  precious  stones  are  found.  Along  the  southern 
boundary  of  the  district,  and  immediately  beyond  it  in  the  Ki'-ghyz  ridgy 

11 


THE   UNION   OF  THE   SIBERIAN   CREAMERY 


land,  silver,  lead,  iron,  copper,  gold  in  small  quantities,  coal,  graphite,  lime, 
gypsum,  and  divers  precious  stones  are  found. 

Near  the  southern  boundary  of  the  district,  in  Karaganda,  coal  is 
mined.  Near  Spassky  Works,  in  the  district  of  Akmolinsk,  copper  is 
commercially  worked. 

In  the  Altai  range  proper,  and  in  the  branching  ridges,  alluvial  and 
quartz  gold  fields  are  worked,  the  output  reaching  about  300  poods  (10,800 
lbs.)  annually,  i.  e.,  about  3.37<  of  the  annual  output  of  gold  in  the  United 
States.  Silver,  lead,  copper,  iron,  zinc,  and  wolfram  (tungsten)  are  also 
found,  but  these  ores  have  not  been  worked  to  any  e.xtent. 

The  largest  variety  of  minerals  is  located  on  the  southwestern  side 
of  the  Altai  range  in  the  district  of  Zmeinogorsk,  Government  of  Tomsk, 
and  in  the  Salair  range.  More  than  800  deposits  of  gold,  silver,  copper, 
lead,  zinc,  iron,  jasper,  malachite,  etc.,  were  located  by  prospecting. 
Alluvial  gold  is  found  in  almost  all  mountain  rivers  of  the  Altai. 

The  coal  basin  of  the  Altai  is  one  of  the  largest  and  richest,  and 
extends  along  the  river  Tom,  between  the  ridges  of  Salair  and  Kouznetzk 
Alataou  in  the  district  of  Kouznetzk,  Government  of  Tomsk.  Coal  is 
worked  in  the  Anjer  and  Soudjen  coal  mines,  near  the  main  Siberian 
line,  and  also  in  the  Kolchougin  mines,  south  of  the  main  line,  being  con- 
nected with  it  by  a  local  railroad. 

In  the  lowlands  of  the  district  no  ores  have  been  found  and  no  stone 
with  which  to  pave  the  streets  can  be  obtained  between  Cheliabinsk  and 
the  Obi.  Even  coarse  sand  is  very  seldom  met  with  in  this  locality.  Some- 
times, however,  fireclays,  limestone  concretions  and  small  quantities  of 
iron  ore  are  found. 

In  the  water  of  numerous  lakes  are  found  considerable  quantities  of 
salt,  which  is  obtained  in  summer  when  it  crystallizes  at  the  bottom. 

Mineral  Waters.  In  many  points  of  the  district  there  are  mineral 
springs  and  lakes  and  accumulations  of  medicinal  mud.  The  Ijest  known 
are  Rakhmanoff  Springs,  in  the  southern  part  of  the  Government  of  Tomsk, 
and  the  Bielokurikhin  Springs,  65  kilometers  due  south  of  the  town  of 
Biysk.  The  best  known  lakes  containing  medicinal  mud  are  Karachin  and 
Ustiantzeff  lakes  in  the  district  of  Kainsk,  Government  of  Tomsk, — 
Solonovka  Lake,  in  the  district  of  Slavgorod,  Government  of  Tomsk;  and 
Krivin  Lake,  in  the  district  of  Kourgan,  Government  of  Tobolsk. 

Soils.  The  wealth  of  the  district,  however,  is  not  so  much  in  the  min- 
erals under  the  earth  as  in  the  soils  on  the  surface.  The  district  of  the 
Siberian  butter-making  industry  contains  mainly  the  following  varieties 
of  soil : 

1.  Gray  soils,  with  large  contents  of  organic  matter,  small  content 
of  humus  and  insignificant  content  of  soluble  salts.  These  soils  are  peculiar 
to  wooded  localities,  with  a  considerable  amount  of  precipitation  annually. 
They  are  but  slightly  fertile  and  must  be  manured. 

12 


AND  OTHER  CO-OPERATIVE   ASSOCIATIONS 


2.  Black  soils,  with  large  contents  of  humus  and  an  abundance  of 
soluble  salts.  These  soils  form  in  localities  with  small  quantities  of  annual 
precipitation,  and  with  an  abundance  of  grass.  When  these  black  soils 
become  wooded  they  change,  and  approach  the  gray  soils  in  their  properties. 
Black  soils  are  highly  fertile  and  produce  good  harvest  without  any 
manure  for  many  years. 

3.  Brown  soils,  with  smaller  contents  of  humus  than  in  the  black 
soils,  and  very  large  contents  of  salts.  They  form  in  steppe  localities,  with 
poor  grass  growth  and  a  very  small  amount  of  precipitation.  Their 
fertility  is  considerably  lower  than  that  of  the  black  soils. 

4.  Light  brown  soils,  with  even  smaller  contents  of  humus  than 
brown  soils  and  greater  content  of  salts,  approaching  in  this  respect  saline 
soils.  They  form  in  localities  where  there  is  hardly  any  irrigation  and 
vegetation. 

5.  Saline  soils  with  hardly  any  humus  but  extremely  large  contents 
of  salts  of  sodium,  calcium,  magnesium,  potassium,  sulphates  and  haloidi- 
tes.  The  content  of  salts  in  these  soils  is  so  large  that  in  dry  weather 
white  deposits  of  salt  crystals  sometimes  a  half-inch  deep  are  formed  on 
the  ground.  Owmg  to  their  being  over  saturated  with  salts,  these  soils 
are  either  entirely  barren  or  grow  only  a  few  plants  which  are  excep- 
tionally adapted.  Cereals  are  not  adapted  to  such  soils,  but  herbs  growing 
on  medium  or  slightly  saline  soils  of  the  district,  while  not  abundant,  are 
nevertheless,  highly  nutritious  for  cattle  and  are  well  liked  by  animals. 

Saline  soils  are  found  among  black,  brown,  and  light  Orown  soils, 
occupying  low,  badly  drained  places  with  clay  subsoil,  Brown  soils, 
oftener  than  black  soils,  have  spots  of  saline  soils,  but  in  the  black  soils, 
spots  of  saline  soils  are  met  in  increasing  quantities  toward  the  south. 

The  limits  of  expansion  of  the  first  four  kinds  of  soil  can  be  seen  on 
Chart  No.  2.  One  can  see  that  in  its  even  and  steppe  parts  the  butter- 
making  district  is  mostly  of  black  soils.  Only  on  the  edges  of  the  district 
are  the  black  soils  replaced  by  gray  soils  in  the  north  and  brown  soils 
in  the  south. 

On  the  eastern  verge  of  the  district,  in  the  outlying  ridges  of  the  Altai, 
black  soils  give  place  to  gray  soils  with  the  addition  of  pebbles  and  stones. 
The  strips  of  gray  soils,  like  those  of  brown  soils,  are  found  only  along 
river  valleys.  In  the  extreme  southeast  light  brown  soils  are  found. 
Saline  soils  are  found  in  small  plots  among  black,  brown  and  light  brown 
soils,  in  respectively  increasing  quantities.  One  can  see  that,  in  regard 
to  soils,  the  Siberian  butter-making  district  is  in  a  very  favorable  state; 
almost  the  entire  surface  of  the  district  is  covered  with  soils  of  high 
fertility,  which  need  no  manure  to  give  medium  sized  crops,  and  in  years 
when  good  weather  prevails  they  give  excellent  crops. 

It  can  truthfully  be  asserted  that  the  fertile  soils  are  the  mainstay  of 
the  wealth  of  the  district. 

13 


THE  UNION  OF  THE   SIBERIAN   CREAMERY 


Climate.  The  average  temperature  of  the  district  is  considerably 
lower  than  that  of  other  localities  in  the  same  latitudes ;  for  instance,  the 
average  temperature  of  all  points  of  the  globe  on  the  56  30'  parallel  of 
north  latitude  is  3.5  Cels.  (Cent.),  while  the  mean  temperature  of  the  city  of 
Tumen,  which  lies  only  40'  (mins)  to  the  north  from  the  56th  parallel  and 
close  to  the  wcstei'n  frontier  of  the  district  is  only  +1  Cels. 

In  the  eastern  part  of  the  district  the  average  temperature  of  the  city 
of  Tomsk,  which  is  in  exactly  56"  30'  north  latitude  is  — 1"  Cels. 

Chart  No.  3  shows  that  the  whole  district  is  covered  by  the  annual 
isotherms  — 1',  0  ,  +1%  +2  ,  +3  and  that  the  isotherm  +i'  passes 
only  over  the  southeastern  extremity  of  the  district,  which  is  due  south 
of  50     north  latitude. 

This  low  mean  temperature  is  explained  by  the  remoteness  of  the 
district  from  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  The  warm  western  winds  from  the 
ocean  reach  the  district  in  a  considerably  cooled  state,  while  the  cold 
northeastern  air  currents  have  easy  access  to  the  district. 

Owing  to  this,  the  farther  to  the  east  the  colder  is  the  climate.  Kourgan, 
Government  of  Tobolsk,  and  Kainsk,  of  the  Government  of  Tomsk,  are 
situated  on  the  same  latitude,  55'  26'  north,  yet  the  annual  mean  tem- 
perature of  the  former  is  +1.85",  while  that  of  the  latter  is  — 0.8°,  that  is 
to  .say,  2.15"  lower,  for  the  sole  reason  that  the  town  of  Kourgan  is  more 
to  the  west  by  13  degrees.  For  the  same  reason,  the  town  Barnaul,  which 
is  2  degrees  due  south  and  18  degrees  east  from  Kourgan,  has  an  average 
annual  temperature  lower  by  one  degree  than  Kourgan.  The  lowering  of 
the  isotherms  from  west  toward  east  can  be  concluded  also  from  their 
direction,  as  shown  by  chart  No.  3,  which  is  from  N.  W.  towards  S.  E. 

Having  a  low  mean  temperature,  the  climate  of  the  district  .shows  at 
the  same  time  a  great  difference  between  summer  and  winter  readings, 
which  is  unknown  in  maritime  districts,  and  is  due  to  the  excessively  low 
readings  during  the  winter  and  very  high  readings  in  the  summer  months. 
Chart  No.  4  .shows  that  the  July  isotherm  20%  which  in  Southern  Europe 
passes  along  the  northern  shore  of  the  Pyrenean  Peninsula  (44  north 
latitude)  and  through  Paris  (49  north  latitude)  passes,  in  the  butter-mak- 
ing district,  through  Kourgan,  Tiukalinsk,  Kainsk,  Tomsk.  Of  the  enum- 
erated towns,  the  first  three  are  a  little  due  north  from  55  north  latitude 
while  Tomsk  is  56'  30'  north  latitude. 

The  northernmost  parts  of  the  district  have  mean  temperature  in  July 
not  lower  than  19-,  while  the  southeastern  extremity  of  the  district, 
which  is  49'  north  latitude,  has  mean  July  temperature  of  24°,  which 
equals  that  of  Constantinople  (40  north  latitude).  Genoa,  Lisbon  and 
Gibraltar. 

The  high  summer  temperature  favors  plants  which  ripen  quickly 
and  demand  abundant  warmth.  In  that  district  watermelons  fully  ripen 
in  open  fields.  That  is  not  possible  anywhere  else  in  the  Old  World  at  55 
north  latitude. 


AND  OTHER  CO-OPERATIVE   ASSOCIATIONS 


The  wheat  belt  reaches  its  most  northern  point  in  Western  Siberia. 

Winter  in  the  Siberian  butter-making  district  is  very  cold.  Chart  No. 
5  shows  that  the  January  isotherm  — 20%  passes  in  the  western  part  of 
the  district  over  58°  and  60  north,  where  the  influence  of  the  Atlantic 
Ocean  is  felt  more.  Then  in  the  middle  part  of  the  district  it  passes  almost 
54  north  latitude,  and  in  the  Altai  region,  where  the  winter  temperature 
is  tempered  by  the  abundance  of  precipitation  and  nebulity,  due  to  the  in- 
fluence of  mountains,  the  isotherm  passes  57  north  latitude. 

The  mean  January  temperature  in  the  above  mentioned  parts  of  the 
district  varies  from  — 16°  to  — 22  .  The  former  reading  ( — 16°)  is 
observed  only  on  the  extreme  west  and  extreme  southeast  (see  chart 
No.  5). 

The  low  winter  temperature  does  not  allow  oak,  beech,  maple  or  ash 
trees  to  grow  anywhere  in  the  West  Siberian  butter-making  district. 
Apple  and  pear  trees  can  be  grown  only  in  the  southernmost  part  nf  the 
district.    Cherry  grows  as  a  dwarf  bush  with  small  leaves  and  berries. 

As  the  summer  temperature  of  the  district  reaches  35°  in  the  shade 
and  winter  temperature  — 45,  there  is  an  annual  range  of  extreme  readings 
of  80°,  with  a  range  for  mean  January  and  July  temperature  at  42°. 

In  the  district  there  are  not  only  great  variations  in  the  annual  tem- 
peratures, but  also  in  the  daily  ones.  The  air  being  dry  and  the  sky 
clear,  it  often  happens  that  a  hot  day  is  followed  by  a  cold  night,  which 
towards  morning,  particularly  during  Spring  and  Autumn,  reaches  below 
zero,  destroying  many  plants.  Therefore  the  period  of  vegetation,  i.  e., 
between  the  last  frosts  in  Spring  and  the  first  frost  in  Autumn,  is  very 
short,  lasting,  in  the  central  part  of  the  district,  150  days;  toward  the 
south  this  period  is  lengthened  by  a  few  days,  and  toward  the  north  it  is  a 
few  days  shorter. 

This  peculiarity  of  the  climate  does  not  permit  the  cultivation  of  slow 
ripening  plants,  such  as  corn  (maize)  sugar  beetroot,  etc.  The  successful 
cultivation  of  these  plants  is  possible  only  in  the  southeastern  part  of  the 
district,  where  the  period  of  vegetation  is  longer  and  the  climate  wanner 
in  localities  protected  by  mountains  against  cold  winds  from  the  north 
and  northeast. 

Amount  of  Precipitation.  As  to  the  amount  of  precipitation,  the  con- 
ditions in  the  district  of  the  Siberian  butter-making  are  not  very  favorable. 
As  Chart  No.  3  shows,  the  major  part  of  the  district  has  less  than  40  cms. 
of  precipitation  yearly,  a  considerable  part  of  the  district  has  40-50  cms., 
and  by  far  the  minor  part  enjoys  50-60  cms. 

The  largest  amount  of  precipitation  falls  in  two  parts  of  the  district. 
One  part  is  in  the  west,  bounded  on  the  east  and  north  by  Irtysh,  on  the 
west  by  the  Tobol,  and  in  the  south  reaches  56°  north  latitude.  The  other 
part  is  in  the  region  of  the  Altai  Mountains,  and  can  be  bounded  by  a 
line  passing  100  kilometers  due  west  from  Mariinsk  and  through  Kouznetzk, 

15 


THE  UNION  OF  THE   SIBERIAN   CREAMERY 


Zmeinogorsk,   Ust-Kamennogorsk  and   further  eastward  to   the  frontier 
of  China. 

The  part  of  the  district  with  .•50-40  cms.  of  yearly  precipitation  and  the 
part  due  south  from  this,  which  has  only  20-30cms.  yearly,  is  bounded  by 
a  line  passing  in  the  direction  from  W-N-W  to  E-S-E.  Thus  the  warmer 
eastern  part  of  the  district,  situated  more  toward  the  south,  has  a  larger 
amount  of  precipitation  owing  to  its  mountainous  character.  Chart  No. 
4  shows  the  quantities  and  distribution  of  precipitation  in  the  district  dur- 
ing the  summer  half  year.  The  chart  shows  that  the  largest  amount  of 
summer  precipitation,  namely,  200  mms.,  is  observed  in  the  same  localities 
as  the  largest  annual  amount,  and  also  that  the  major  part  of  the  district, 
except  the  most  southern  part  of  it  which  has  a  very  irregular  northern 
boundary,  has  on  the  average  not  less  than  1.50  mms.  summer  precipita- 
tion. Due  south  from  this  locality  is  situated  a  zone  with  an  average 
of  not  less  than  150  mms.  of  summer  precipitation.  Still  further  south  lies 
the  belt  which  has  not  more  than  100  mms.  The  northern  boundary  of 
that  part  in  its  western  section  lies  much  more  northward  than  the  eastern 
or  particularly  the  middle  part  of  it. 

Chart  No.  5  shows  that  in  the  winter  months  the  amount  of  precipita- 
tion is  much  less  than  in  the  summer  months. 

In  the  northern  part  of  the  district,  which  is  more  thickly  wooded  and 
thus  facilitates  the  accumulation  of  snow,  the  amount  of  precipitation  in 
winter  is  more  than  50  mm.  However,  in  the  major  part  of  'he  district 
the  winter  precipitation  varies  from  25  to  50  mm.,  and  only  in  the  middle 
of  the  district  is  there  found  a  part  of  the  belt  which  has  less  than  25 
mm.  of  winter  precipitation. 

A  small  amount  of  snow  in  the  southern  part  of  the  district  does  not 
favor  cultivation  of  winter  crops,  as,  being  deprived  of  the  snow  cover, 
the  plants  are  killed  by  frost. 

The  western  and  middle  parts  of  the  Di.strict  South  of  56°  north  latitude 
often  suffer  from  drought,  as  the  annual  amounts  of  precipitation  vary 
greatly,  and  years  with  550  mm.  of  precipitation  are  followed  by  years 
with  only  120  mm. 

Irrigation.  Owing  to  the  small  amount  of  precipitation  and  the  great 
evaporation  of  precipitated  moisture  caused  by  considerable  warmth  and 
dryness  in  the  air,  there  is  a  great  field  for  development  of  artificial  irriga- 
tion in  many  parts  of  the  district. 

Rivers.  Except  for  rivers  that  flow  from  the  glaciers  of  the  Altai, 
no  rivers  in  the  district  have  much  water,  and  their  lengths  are  not 
proportionate  to  their  breadths  and  depths.  Among  the  rivers  which 
have  their  source  in  the  Altai  range,  the  most  important  are  the  rivers 
Katun  and  Bia,  which  form  the  river  Obi  and  its  tributaries,  the  livers 
Tom,  Choumysh  and  Chary.sh.     All  these  rivers,  as  well  as  Irtysh,  have 

16 


AND  OTHER  CO-OPERATIVE   ASSOCIATIONS 


mountainous  charactei-  only  in  their  upper  course.  They  are  all  swift,  with 
stony  bottoms,  clear  cold  water  and  great  floods  during  summer  caused 
by  thawing  of  glaciers  in  the  mountains  or  by  heavy  showers.  Of  these 
rivers  only  the  Irtysh  and  Tom  are  navigable;  the  rivers  Charysh  and 
Bia  are  navigable  for  a  short  distance  from  their  mouths.  The  rest  of 
the  rivers  of  the  district  have  all  the  characteristic  features  of  valley 
rivers,  namely,  soft,  crumbling  banks,  sandy  or  oozy  bottom,  slow  cur- 
rent, muddy  water  and  winding  course,  if  the  river  is  small,  or,  dividing 
into  several  branches,  if  the  river  is  big.  In  Springtime  when  the  snow 
thaws,  these  rivers  overflow  over  wide  tracts ;  in  the  middle  and  end  of 
summer  they  become  shallow.  The  river  Obi,  beginning  at  the  confluence 
of  the  rivers  Katun  and  Bia,  is  partly  of  that  character ;  in  a  greater  degree 
Irtysh  in  the  northern  parts  of  the  Provinces  of  Semipalatinsk  and 
Akmolinsk  and  the  left  tributaries  of  Obi  are  completely  so.  Among  this 
kind  of  rivers  may  be  counted  the  left  tributaries  of  Tobol,  which,  though 
they  flow  from  the  Urals,  have  in  their  middle  and  lower  course  all  the 
distinctive  features  of  the  rivers  of  the  plains. 

Lakes.  The  district  is  very  peculiar,  inasmuch  as  there  are  great 
stretches  of  land  without  any  rivers  or  other  kind  of  flowing  water.  The 
stretches  of  land  dividing  the  rivers  Isiet  and  Miass,  Miass  and  Uyi  and 
Tobol  and  Ishym,  Ishym  and  Irtysh,  Irtysh  and  Obi,  are  plains  with  such 
small  gradients  that  the  moisture  precipitated  from  the  atmosphere  ac- 
cumulates in  the  depressions  and  forms  lakes,  mostly  small.  These  are 
very  numerous.  For  instance,  in  the  district  of  Kourgan,  Government  of 
Tobolsk,  with  an  area  of  28,000  sq.  kilometers,  there  are  500  lakes  of  area 
varying  from  80  sq.  kilometers  to  0.25  sq.  kilometers. 

The  depth  of  all  lakes  in  the  steppe  belt,  varies  from  2  to  8  meters  only, 
vdth  low-lying  and  flat  banks  and  sandy  or  oozy  bottom.  Many  lakes  have 
fresh  drinking  water  but  the  farther  south  the  more  rapid  the  evapora- 
tion, with  the  result  that  the  lakes  contain  a  more  or  less  concentrated 
solution  of  salt.  These  lakes  are  salt,  bitter  or  alkaline.  The  height  of 
the  water  in  the  steppe  lakes  varies  from  year  to  year,  and  the  more 
shallow  ones  sometimes  entirely  dry  up. 

In  the  years  characterized  by  low  water,  many  slightly  saline  lakes 
become  very  salty;  when  the  water  rises  the  salt  solution  becomes 
weaker.  It  has  been  noted  that  lakes  fill  up  and  dry  periodically.  The 
length  of  the  period  is  about  every  40  years,  but  this  phenomenon,  as  well 
as  its  causes,  have  been  studied  very  slightly. 

The  majority  of  lakes  are  situated  at  the  bottom  of  isolated  depres- 
sions, and  have  no  connection  between  them,  but  where  the  land  has  a 
gradient  there  are  systems  of  lake  with  different  levels  and  connected 
with  one  another  by  running  water  either  during  the  whole  year  or  only 
in  the  Spring.  In  such  systems  all  lakes  except  the  lowest  are  fresh 
water  while  the  lowest,  which  has   no  outlet  for  its  water  and  where 

17 


Kocks   on    Lake   Borovoe 


[^ake    Moultinskup.   Central    Altai 


AND  OTHER  CO-OPERATIVE   ASSOCIATIONS 


accumulate  all  salts  washed  out  of  the  ground,  are  always  mineralized. 
Such  chains  of  lakes  may  be  regarded  as  uncompleted  rivei's  of  interior 
basins.  In  localities  with  stepper  inclines  a  chain  of  lakes  becomes  con- 
verted into  a  peculiar  river  which  sometimes  broadens  in  its  course  like 
a  lake,  and  sometimes  becomes  narrow  like  a  brook,  in  this  way  showing 
its  descendance  from  a  chain  of  lakes. 

The  lakes  which  ai'e  fed  by  the  rivers  of  the  interior  basin,  contrary  to 
small  isolated  lakes,  are  of  considerable  size.  Of  such  lakes  should  be  men- 
tioned Lake  Chany,  with  tributaries  Kargat  and  Choulym,  in  the  South- 
western part  of  the  government  of  Tomsk.  Lake  Chany  is  fresh  water  in 
the  eastern  end,  where  these  rivers  flow  in,  and  salty  water  in  its  western 
end. 

In  the  province  of  Semipalatinsk,  near  the  town  of  Pavlodar,  the  salt 
water  Lake  Koriakovsk  is  situated,  where,  owing  to  the  proximity  of  a 
navigable  river,  the  deposits  of  salt  are  worked  on  a  big  scale. 

In  the  province  of  Akmolinsk  the  largest  lakes  of  the  district  under 
consideration  are:  Lake  Kyzyl-Kak,  Lake  Selety-Degiz,  which  is  fed  by 
the  river  Selety,  Lake  Teke,  Lake  Oolk-Karoi,  Lake  Chagly,  with  the 
tributary,  Chaglinka. 

In  the  Government  of  Tobolsk,  the  salt  water  lakes  are  less  numerous. 
Of  these  must  be  mentioned  the  fair-sized  Lake  Miedvezhie,  (the  Lake  of 
the  Bear) ,  near  the  railroad  connecting  Petropavlovsk  and  Kourgan,  which 
is  famous  for  its  curative  mud.  Of  fresh  water  lakes,  which  form  the 
source  of  some  rivers,  the  most  remarkable  is  a  picturesque  mountain 
Lake  Teletzkoe,  in  the  eastern  Altai,  from  which  flows  the  river  Bia,  and 
the  double  Lake  Saltaim-Teniz,  in  the  district  of  Tiukalinsk  of  the  Govern- 
ment of  Tobolsk,  from  which  flows  the  river  Osha,  one  of  the  left  tribu- 
taries of  the  Irtysh.  A  group  of  fresh  water  mountain  lakes,  Lake 
Borovoe  and  others  are  situated  in  a  picturesque  wooded  mountainous 
locality  in  the  western  part  of  Kokchetav,  of  the  Government  of 
Akmolinsk.  This  district  is  most  popular  all  over  Siberia  as  a  health 
resort,  and  is  famous  for  its  salubrious  climate. 

In  the  western  part  of  the  district  on  the  frontier  of  two  provinces  of 
Tourgai  and  Akmolinsk,  is  situated  the  salt  water  Lake  Ubagan-Koul,  from 
which  the  salt  water  river  Ubagan  flows  which  joins  the  river  Tobol  and 
makes  the  water  of  the  latter  noticeably  salty  for  a  distance  of  over  1.50 
kilometers.    This  is  a  rare  phenomenon,  which  is  worthy  of  being  recorded. 

Vegetation.  According  to  the  character  of  the  vegetation,  the  Siberian 
butter-making  district  can  be  divided  into  five  parts.  North  of  57  degrees 
in  the  west  and  55  degrees  in  the  east  lies  a  belt  of  woods  peculiar  to  the 
plains.  This  belt  is  joined  on  the  south  by  the  belt  of  steppe  woods,  which 
is  500  kilometers  wide  in  the  west  and  about  600  kilometers  wide  in  the 
east,  in  the  region  of  the  Altai  Mountains.  In  the  middle  on  the  water- 
shed between  the  Irtysh  and  Obi,  the  belt  of  steppe  woods  narrows  down 

19 


THE   UNION   OF  THE   SIBERIAN  CREAMERY 


to  150  kilometers.  South  of  the  belt  is  a  wider  belt  of  feather-grass- 
covered-steppe.  South  of  this  steppe  lies  a  wormwood-grass-covered- 
steppe,  which  enters  the  butter-making  district  as  a  narrow  strip  on  the 
southeastern  side.  The  eastern  part  of  the  district  is  for  the  most  part 
occupied  by  the  region  of  mountain  forests  and  alpine  flora.  The  situa- 
tion of  these  belts  is  shown  on  chart  No.  6. 

In  the  belt  of  woods  of  the  plains  the  soil  in  well  drained  localities  is 
of  the  gray  kind,  and  in  the  flat  inter-river  spaces  are  numerous  marshes. 

The  larger  part  of  the  locality  is  wooded.  Of  acerose  trees,  the  pine 
occupies  mostly  dry,  sandy  areas  to  the  exclusion  of  other  kinds  of  trees, 
such  as  red  fir;  and  further  north  the  cedar  is  found,  a  great  tree  which 
gives  valuable  wood  and  cedar  nuts,  a  very  popular  dainty  in  Siberia.  To 
the  acerose  plants,  the  juniper  also  belongs,  with  hard  needles  and  blue 
resinous  berries. 

Of  foliate  trees,  the  birch,  aspen,  black  poplar,  and  alder  grow  here, 
and  vai'ious  kinds  of  willows.  Of  bushes,  there  are  found  sweet  briar, 
osiers,  honeysuckle,  and  sallowthorn,  and  of  berry-bearing  bushes,  sorb, 
bird  cherry,  black  and  red  currant,  snowdrop  tree  and  hawthorn. 

Of  herbaceous  berry-bearing  plants  the  following  are  peculiar  to  the 
district:  raspberry,  strawberry,  stone  bramble,  red  bilberry,  blueberry, 
cloudberry  and  blackberry.  Berries  in  Siberia  replace  fruits,  the  cultiva- 
tion of  which  is  impossible  owing  to  the  severity  of  the  climate.  Berries 
are  eaten  by  everybody  in  summer  and  preserved  for  winter  in  the  form 
of  jams,  or  in  dried,  soaked  or  frozen  state  (cranberry  and  bilberry). 

The  grass  in  the  wooded  country  is  abundant,  tall  and  juicy,  but  as 
fodder  it  is  not  as  nutritious  as  that  of  the  more  southern  districts. 

There  are  cultivated  winter  rye,  which  is  greatly  assisted  by  the  deep 
snow  cover;  oats,  exclusively  to  feed  hoi'ses;  barley,  which  is  used  to 
make  flour  or  grits;  flax  and  hemp.    Wheat  is  little  cultivated. 

Of  vegetables  the  following  are  successfully  grown:  cabbage,  beetroot, 
turnip  (various),  radish,  pumpkin.  Sunflowers  and  peas  can  be  grown 
only  in  kitchen  gardens,  and  cucumbers  can  be  raised  only  in  warmed 
beds.  Between  the  forest  belt  and  the  belt  of  feather  grass  steppe  there 
is  a  belt  of  "forest  steppe"  where  woods  grow,  interspaced  by  patches  of 
black  soil  steppe.  Farther  south,  the  woods  are  thinner  and  the  character 
of  the  country  more  approaches  the  steppe.  Of  needle-leafed  trees  there 
grow  only  pine  in  a  few  places,  chiefly  on  sandy,  narrow  strips  on  the 
slopes  toward  the  valleys  of  the  rivers,  Tobol,  Ishym,  Irtysh,  Obi  and  its 
left  tributaries,  Barnaulka,  Kasmala  and  others.  Of  foliate  trees,  birch 
grows  here  almost  exclusively,  a^pen  being  but  seldom  found.  Black  and 
silver  poplar,  alder  and  various  kinds  of  willow  grow  only  on  the  river 
banks. 

The  flora  of  bushes  is  poorer  in  this  belt  than  in  the  forest  belt.  In 
addition  to  various  kinds  of  osiers,  which  thrive  along  the  river  banks  and 
in  damp  localities,  providing  bark  for  tanning,  there  grow  in  a  few  places 

20 


AND  OTHER  CO-OPERATIVE   ASSOCIATIONS 


and  in  small  quantities,  bird  cherry,  currant,  sweet  brier,  hawthorn, 
meadow  sweet  and  wild  cherry. 

Berry-bearing  herbaceous  plants  are  also  less  numerous  in  this  dis- 
trict, only  strawberry  and  stone  bramble  being  found. 

The  herbs  of  the  forest  steppe  belt  are  not  so  thick,  tall  and  juicy 
as  those  of  the  forest  belt,  but  at  the  same  time  they  are  very  nutritious 
and  the  cattle  of  the  belt  are  bigger  and  fatter  than  in  the  forest  zone. 

The  most  luxuriant  growth  of  herbs  is  found  in  the  Baraba  Steppe — a 
location  between  the  rivers  Irtysh  and  Obi.  The  thick,  juicy  and  tall 
herbs  of  this  locality  favor  stock  raising  and  dairying,  and  by  the 
amount  of  butter  produced,  this  locality  heads  the  list. 

In  the  belt  of  forest  steppe  the  good  fodder  herb,  Medicago  Falcata, 
grows  in  great  quantities.  It  is  known  in  the  United  States  under  the 
name  "Alfalfa."  Wheat  is  greatly  cultivated  in  this  belt,  occupying  more 
than  half  of  all  cultivated  land.  In  the  southern  part  of  the  belt  hard 
wheats  of  high  class  grow  well,  but  in  the  middle  and  northern  sections 
these  wheats  do  not  thrive.  The  second  cereal,  in  quantity,  is  oats.  Spring 
rye,  barley,  peas,  buckwheat,  millet  and  sometimes  spelt,  flax  and  hemp 
are  growing.  In  the  southeastern  section  sunflowers  are  also  grown,  and 
potatoes  thrive  well  in  kitchen  gardens. 

The  sowing  of  winter  rye  is  not  widely  practiced,  as  the  scanty  snow 
cover  is  not  sufficient  protection  against  the  frosts.  In  the  southern  sec- 
tion of  the  forest  steppe  belt  cucumbers  thrive  in  fields,  as  do  also  melons 
and  watermelons,  which  do  not  reach  great  size,  but  are  very  sweet. 

There  is  no  fruit  grown  in  the  belt,  as  the  fruit  trees  imported  from 
European  Russia  cannot  stand  the  local  winters  and  no  local  type  of 
fruit  tree  has  yet  been  obtained.  The  next  belt  toward  the  south  is  the 
feather  grass  steppe,  where  there  are  very  few  woods. 

Acerose  woods  are  found  on  granite  mountains  of  the  northern  section 
of  the  Kirghyz  ridgy  land,  especially  on  the  Kokchetav  table  land,  due 
east  from  the  river  Ishym,  and  on  sandy  stretches  alongside  the  rivers 
Irtysh  and  Tobol. 

The  steppe  is  all  covered  with  grass,  with  feather  grass  Stipa  Pennata 
and  Festuca  Ovina  prevailing. 

Great  quantities  of  gramineous,  umbellar  and  papilionaceous  plants  also 
grow  here,  and  in  places  groups  of  wild  almond  (prunus  nana)  are  found, 
also  meadow  sweet,  yellow  acacia  (caragana  arborescens)  etc. 

Of  trees,  only  birch  is  occasionally  met  with,  but  these  are  generally 
badly  twisted  and  short  living. 

All  growth  is  withered  up  by  the  end  of  the  summer  and  the  steppe 
takes  on  a  brownish-yellow  depressing  tint.  Of  berry-bearing  plants, 
there  are  found  in  the  steppe  in  great  quantities  strawberry,  and  on  the 
river  banks  blackberry  and  currants,  while  in  places  wild  cherry,  in  the 
form  of  small  bushes,  is  found. 

21 


THE  UNION  OF  THE  SIBERIAN  CREAMERY 


Only  on  the  Kokchetav  table  land  is  the  flora  more  varied,  uniting 
the  representative  plants  peculiar  to  the  steppe  proper  to  those  of  the  forest 
steppe  belt  and  the  forest  zone. 

There  is  much  saline  soil  in  the  steppe  belt,  with  its  peculiar  scanty 
vegetation,  of  which  cattle,  and  particularly  sheep,  are  exceedingly  fond. 

The  list  of  cultivated  plants  in  the  steppe  is  headed  by  wheat,  which 
is  of  high  class,  followed  by  oats,  millet,  and  sunflowers. 

In  the  southeastern  part  in  the  district  of  Zmeinogorsk  successful  ex- 
periments with  sugar  beetroot  have  been  carried  out. 

Cucumbers,  melons  and  watermelons  of  great  dimensions  and  sweetness 
thrive  in  the  open  fields  of  the  steppe  belt. 

The  vegetation  and  crops  of  the  steppe  often  suff"er  from  drought  and 
insects  of  the  family  of  locust  (grasshopper  and  cicada.) 

Flora  of  the  wormwood  steppe,  which  lies  due  south,  is  even  scantier 
than  that  of  the  feather  grass  steppe.  Trees  and  bushes  are  very  seldom 
found,  and  then  only  growing  on  the  river  banks.  Grass  does  not  cover 
the  whole  ground  carpet-like,  but  grows  in  separate  tufts.  Wormwood 
and  other  kinds  of  xerophilous  plants  prevail. 

Vegetation  of  the  Altai  mountain  country  is  abundant  and  variegated. 
Along  low  lying  river  valleys  the  stretches  of  the  forest  steppe  and  some- 
times of  the  steppe  itself  penetrate  into  the  mountain  range. 

The  slopes  of  mountains,  especially  on  the  northern  side  are  thickly 
wooded  by  great  pines,  firs,  cedar,  birch,  larch,  aspen,  poplar,  and  in  one 
place,  near  Kouznetzk,  linden  tree,  which,  evidently,  is  a  reminder  of 
the  preceding  geological  epoch  when  the  climate  of  the  country  was 
warmer  and  more  humid.  The  character  of  vegetable  growth  in  the  Altai 
range  changes  according  to  the  altitude  as  is  the  case  in  all  mountain 
I'egions. 

The  lower  slopes  of  mountains  are  covered  with  mixed  woods  of  foliate 
trees  and  pine,  the  former  not  reaching  to  an  altitude  higher  than  2500 
to  3000  feet.  Above  that  line  the  mountains  are  covered  by  thick  sombre 
woods  of  fir,  cedar,  etc.,  which  are  fittingly  called  "blackness."  Higher 
up  one  finds  bright  and  gladdening  forests  of  larch,  with  trees  growing 
far  apart,  interspaced  with  a  luxuriant  growth  of  herbs.  The  reg'on  of 
forests  in  the  Altai  range  breaks  at  the  altitude  of  7000  to  8000  feet. 
Cedar  and  larch  reach  higher  altitudes  than  other  kinds  of  trees,  the 
former  prevailing  on  the  damp  northern  slopes  and  the  latter  on  the 
dry  southern  inclines. 

Still  higher  one  finds  the  belt  of  the  Alpine  meadows.  The  altitude  of 
9000  to  10,000  feet  marks  the  line  of  eternal  snows. 

Animals.    Fauna  of  this  land  is  as  varied  as  the  flora. 
The  sparsely  populated  country  leaves  much  room  to  the  wild  animals. 
Of  large  herbivorous  animals,  for  which  the  climate  is  not  favorable  by 
reason  of  long  and  severe  winters,  there  are  found  in  the  mountainous 

22 


AND  OTHER  CO-OPERATIVE   ASSOCIATIONS 


country  of  the  Altai  the  elk,  (Cervus  Alces)  mountain  deer  or  maral, 
(Cervus  Canadiensis  Asiaticus)  whose  horns  are  highly  valued  in  China, 
where  a  restoi'ative  medicine  is  prepared  of  them, — several  kinds  of  moun- 
tain sheep  and  goat  (arhar,  argali)  roe,  mountain  goat  with  great  horns, 
musk  deer  (Moschus  moschiferus),— a  small  bi-hoofed  hornless  animal 
with  long  canine  teeth  resembling  tusks  which  is  hunted  for  the  valuable 
musk — the  Kabarga  castor. 

In  the  steppe  roe,  hooked  nosed  saiga  are  found,  and  the  graceful 
djerian  of  the  antelope  family:  Koulan,  a  kind  of  wild  ass.  and  in  elevated 
places,  wild  goat  (Capra  Sibirica). 

In  pine  woods  which  are  situated  in  the  forest  steppe  belt,  roe  thrives 
and  sometimes  great  elk  are  found. 

Of  large  prey  animals,  in  the  Altai  range  and  in  the  northern  part  of 
the  forest  belt,  bears  are  found,  and  all  over  the  district  in  great  numbers, 
wolves  and  foxes, — the  former  mostly  in  steppe  localities  where  corsak 
is  also  found. 

In  the  Altai  range  and  in  the  forest  belt,  badger,  lynx  and  wolverine  are 
found,  and  in  the  Southern  Altai  is  found  carnivorous  spotted  irbis  or 
Altai  panther  of  the  cat  family,  about  the  size  of  an  ordinary  panther. 

Of  small  prey  animals  the  Altai  still  preserve  in  remote  localities,  sable, 
marten,  skunk,  polecat,  weasel,  ermine,  kolonok  (Kolinsky). 

In  the  forest  belt  river  otter  is  found.  Of  insectivora,  in  the  forest 
steppe,  in  the  steppe  and  in  the  mountain  region  are  found  hedgehog  and 
mole. 

Of  rodenta,  the  most  abundant  in  the  whole  district  are  hares,  rats, 
mice  of  various  kinds  which  breed  in  the  forest  and  the  steppe  belts. 
Rodenta  peculiar  to  the  steppe  belt  are  jerboa  or  jumping  hare,  a  small 
animal  with  long  hind  and  short  front  legs,  fat  marmot  or  Tarbagan,  Siber- 
ian marmot  and  hamster.  In  the  forest  and  mountain  regions  squirrels 
breed  in  enormous  quantities,  the  source  of  a  profitable  trade, — bunmduk 
or  striped  squirrel,  with  a  handsome  coat  and  letiaga  (flying  squirrel — 
Sciuropterus  Volans  Russicus).  In  the  mountains  only  red  or  mountain 
wolf  is  found,  light  yellow  polecat,  mountain  marmot  and  rat  hare, — a 
fairly  large  rodent.  Of  prey  birds  there  are  found  all  over  the  district 
several  kinds  of  eagles,  hawks,  kites  and  owls.  In  the  summer  great 
numbers  of  wading  and  swimming  birds  such  as  cranes,  herons,  snipe  of 
various  kinds,  swans,  geese,  ducks,  plungeons,  barnacles,  gulls,  etc.,  come  to 
the  steppe  lakes. 

The  woods  are  inhabited  by  heath  cocks,  black  martins,  partridges, 
hazel  hens.  These  birds  winter  in  the  district  and  enable  the  population 
to  carry  on  a  considerable  trade  in  shipping  frozen  wild  birds  to  European 
Russia  and  abroad.  At  the  Altai  range  a  great  item  of  export  is  quail, 
the  meat  of  which  is  very  sweet. 

On  high  summits  of  the  Altai  ullar  or  mountain  turkey  is  found,  of 
the  same  size  as  home  turkey.  In  the  steppe,  big  swiftly  running  bustard 
are  found.  2i- 


THE   UNION  OF  THE   SIBERIAN   CREAMERY 


There  are  more  than  200  different  kinds  of  grani-  and  insectivorous 
birds.  Almost  all  of  them,  with  a  few  exceptions,  are  migratory,  as  also 
ai'e  the  wading  and  water  birds. 

Of  reptilia,  there  is  found  all  over  the  district  viper  (vipara  berus) 
and  viviparous  lizard  (lacerta  vivipara)  ;  very  often  three  kinds  of  ^^nakes 
are  found:  common-tropidonotus  natrix,  checkered-tropidonotus  hydrus 
and  crawling-er>-x  jaculus.  Reptiles  are  especially  abundant  in  the  southern 
Altai  and  this  is  reflected  in  the  name  of  the  town  of  Zmeinogorsk,  which 
in  Russian  means  "Snake  Mountain  Town." 

In  the  southernmost  part  of  the  district  river  turtles  are  sometimes 
found. 

Of  amphibious  animals  several  kinds  of  medium  sized  frogs  are  found, 
tetradactylous  triton  and  two  kinds  of  toads,  grey  and  green. 

Of  cartilaginous  fishes  in  large  rivers  of  the  district,  like  Obi  and  Irtysh, 
are  caught  valuable  sturgeon  and  sterlet.  Of  the  salmon  family,  .n  the 
same  rivers  and  their  larger  tributaries,  are  found  the  tasty  nelma  or 
Siberian  salmon  and  in  the  mountain  rivers  of  the  Altai  live  umber  and 
talmen, — two  excellent  fishes  for  the  table.  Sometimes  from  the  noi-thern 
tiow  of  the  Obi  fish  of  the  salmon  family  come  up  the  river  Obi^  which 
are  peculiar  to  the  far  north,  i.  e.,  t'almo-vimba  and  moxun. 

In  the  rivers  and  flowing  lakes  all  over  the  district  abound  pike,  perch, 
bass,  roach,  eel-pout,  common  gremille,  gudeon,  bream,  tench,  wh'.le  in 
the  standing  fresh  and  slightly  salt  lakes  are  found  crucian  carp  weigh- 
ing up  to  8  lbs.,  the  most  numerous  fish  of  the  steppe  and  forest  steppe  belts. 
The  great  Lake  Chany  and  its  smaller  neighboring  lakes  are  particulai'ly 
famous  for  the  abundance  of  fish. 

Of  insects  in  the  forest  belt,  as  well  as  in  the  valleys  and  in  the  Altai 
range,  are  enormously  abundant  bloodsucking  insects, — gnats,  mosquitoes, 
horse  and  ox  flies,  thrips,  etc.  They  are  the  true  scourge  of  the  country, 
which  do  not  let  man  or  beast  alone  in  the  summer.  This  abomination, 
as  the  Siberian  peasant  calls  these  torturers,  makes  it  impossible  to  re- 
main in  the  woods  without  gloves  and  net  for  the  head,  or  to  sleep  with- 
out smoking  fire,  while  for  animals,  not  excluding  the  long-haired  bear, 
there  is  only  one  means  of  escape — to  wade  as  deep  as  possible  in  the  water 
and  stay  there. 

This  scourge  is  absent  in  the  steppe,  which  is  constantly  swept  by 
winds.  However,  the  steppe  in  dry  years  swarms  with  locust  which 
devour  the  harvest  and  grass,  and  sometimes  cause  great  los.ses  to  the 
tiller. 

In  the  steppe  also  abound  poisonous  spiders,  tarantula  and  karakourt, 
the  bite  of  which  is  very  dangerous. 

The  Altai  range  with  its  luxuriant  vegetation  and  comparatively  mild 
climate  presents  favorable  conditions  for  bees,  and  apiculture  is  a  very 
popular  and  profitable  trade  in  the  district. 

24 


AND  OTHER  CO-OPERATIVE  ASSOCIATIONS 


The  Natural  Wealth  of  the  District.  As  can  be  easily  seen  from  the 
foregoing  description  of  the  district  of  the  Siberian  butter-making,  the 
region  has  a  great  natural  wealth  and  a  brilliant  economic  future.  The 
dimensions  of  the  district,  which  is  double  the  size  of  Germany,  the  great 
amount  of  fertile  land  and  good  pasturage,  untapped  riches  of  the  forests 
in  the  north  and  east  of  the  district,  climate  which  permits  of  the  culti- 
vation of  high  grades  of  wheat,  watermelons  and  melons,  and  which,  in  spite 
of  the  severity  of  the  weather  is  very  good  for  man;  great  mineral  wealth, 
long  navigable  rivers,  which  cut  through  the  district,  abundance  in  the 
mountains,  forests  and  steppes,  of  valuable  fur-bearing  animals, — in  the 
rivers  and  lakes,  of  fishes,- — make  the  district  a  good  field  for  enterprising 
and  creative  labor,  and  guarantees  to  the  inhabitants  a  high  material 
prosperity. 

Insufficient  Development  of  Natural  Resources.  What  follows  will 
show  that,  as  far  as  the  utilization  by  man  of  the  natural  resources  of  the 
disti'ict  of  Siberian  butter-making  is  concerned,  the  district  is  still  in  the 
first  stages  of  its  development,  and  the  economic  future  of  the  district 
promises  much  more  than  the  district  has  so  far  yielded  to  man. 

Population.  The  district,  in  comparison  with  its  area,  is  very  scantily 
populated.  In  all  districts  where  butter-making  is  developed,  according 
to  the  figures  for  1915,  there  were  only  8,300,000  inhabitants  of  both  sexes. 

Of  this  number  7,949,200  are  rural  population,  and  only  350,300,  or 
4.2%,  are  living  in  towns,  which  clearly  indicates  the  exclusively  agricul- 
tural character  of  the  district  and  the  slight  development  of  manufacturing 
industries. 

Density  of  Population.  The  density  of  population  in  towns  and  country 
is  7.2  to  the  square  versta,  or  6.3  to  the  square  kilometer  or  16.5  to  the 
square  mile. 

The  density  of  rural  population  is  only  6.9  to  square  versta,  or  6.1  to 
square  kilometer  or  15.8  to  the  square  mile.  One  can  easily  see  what  great 
amount  of  land  the  population  has  at  its  disposal. 

To  give  an  idea  how  the  land  in  Siberia  is  distributed  among  the  land- 
owner, it  is  sufficient  to  point  out  that  out  of  121,500,000  desiatins,  or 
328,378,300  acres,  which  represents  the  Government  of  Tobolsk,  including 
the  part  which  is  outside  of  the  district  of  butter-making,  63,263,000 
desiatins,  or  170,908,100  acres  belong  to  the  State  (this  land  mostly 
being  forests  and  partly  tillable  land  and  meadows  which  are  rented  by 
the  peasants),  270,000  desiatins,  or  775,600  acres — belong  to  private  persons 
and  11,540,000  desiatins,  or  30,811,800  acres  are  state  grants  to  rural 
communities  numbering  1,975,000  of  both  sexes,  which  represents  an 
average  of  5.84  desiatins,  or  14.6  acres  per  head.  The  balance  of  the  land 
of  45,700,000  desiatins,  or  123,513,500  acres  either  belongs  to  the  tribes 

25 


THE   UNION   OF  THE   SIBERIAN   CREAMERY 


of  other  than  Caucasian  race  or  are  jointly  used  by  the  tribes  and  the 
State.  It  is  necessary  to  point  out  that  two-thirds  of  the  Government  of 
Tobolsk  is  situated  in  localities  where  agriculture  is  impossible,  it  being 
the  region  of  uninhabited  forests  and  tundra  (marshy  Siberian  plain), 
while  five-sixths  of  the  land,  granted  to  the  rural  communities,  and  all 
private  lands,  that  is  to  say  the  most  productive  lands,  are  situated  in 
the  south  of  the  Government,  in  the  district  of  butter-making. 

Reckoning  on  the  average  a  family  as  consisting  of  six  people,  we  find 
that  a  household  in  the  Government  of  Tobolsk  has  at  its  disposal  not  less 
than  35  desiatins,  or  97.3  acres.  In  the  provinces  of  Tomsk,  Akmolinsk 
and  Semipalatinsk,  there  is  still  more  land  available. 

Distribution  of  Population.  The  population  of  the  district  of  the 
Siberian  butter-making  is  distributed  very  unevenly.  A  general  idea  of 
the  comparative  density  of  population  can  be  obtained  from  diagram  No.  7. 

From  this  diagi'am  it  will  be  seen  that  the  most  densely  populated  part 
of  the  district  lies  on  the  northwest,  comprising  a  part  of  the  district  of 
Shadrinsk,  Government  of  Tomsk,  district  of  Cheliabinsk,  Government  of 
Orenburg  and  district  of  Kourgan,  Government  of  Tobolsk.  The  density 
of  population  in  this  locality  is  the  highest  in  the  district  of  Shadrinsk, 
reaching  27  people  to  one  square  versta,  or  22  people  to  one  square  kilo- 
meter, or  61  people  to  one  square  mile.  The  lowest  is  in  the  district  of 
Kourgan,  there  being  18  people  to  the  square  versta,  or  15  people  to  the 
square  kilometer,  or  40  people  to  the  square  mile. 

In  the  eastern  part  of  the  butter-making  district,  the  districts  of 
Kamen,  Barnaul  and  Novo-Nikolaevsk.  Government  of  Tomsk  and  Altai, 
have  the  densest  population,  reaching  to  14  people  to  the  .square  versta, 
or  12  people  to  the  square  kilometer,  or  34  people  to  the  square  mile.  The 
lowest  density  of  population  is  observed  in  the  districts  of  Kainsk  and 
Ust-Kamennogorsk,  Government  of  Tomsk,  where  the  population  is  dis- 
tributed at  the  rate  of  about  2.8  persons  to  the  square  versta,  or  2.4 
persons  to  the  square  kilometer,  or  6.8  people  to  the  square  mile. 

Possibilities  for  future  growth  of  population.  No  doubt  can  exist  on 
the  subject  of  the  great  unused  capacity  of  the  district  for  colonization. 
As  is  well  known,  the  capacity  of  country  for  colonization  is  governed  by 
two  factors:  the  natural  productiveness  of  the  country  and  the  degree  of 
perfection  in  the  methods  of  creative  labor.  It  is  safe  to  assume  that 
with  the  present  imperfect  methods  of  work  the  district  of  the  Siberian 
butter-making  can  supply  sufficient  means  of  livelihood  for  a  population 
as  dense  as  that  in  the  most  thickly  populated  parts  of  the  district,- -i.  e., 
27  people  to  the  square  versta,  or  22  people  to  the  square  kilometer,  or  61 
people  to  the  square  mile. 

According  to  this  conservative  estimate,  the  district  of  the  Siberian 
butter-making  can  easily  accommodate  30,000,000  persons,  and  with  more 

26 


AND  OTHER  CO-OPERATIVE   ASSOCIATIONS 


perfect  methods  of  agriculture  and  manufacture,  the  quick  improvement  of 
which  has  been  lately  evidenced,  it  can  accommodate  twice  that  number, 
or  up  to  60,000,000  people. 

Ethnographic  Composition  of  the  District.  As  to  the  race,  the  district 
of  the  Siberian  butter-making  is  mainly  Russian.  Though  in  the  provinces 
and  districts,  parts  of  which  compose  the  butter-making  districts,  there  is 
numbered  about  20%  representatives  of  non-Caucasian  races  (mainly  of 
Turco-Tartars),  more  than  60%  of  these  tribes  reside  in  the  districts  out- 
side the  Siberian  butter-making  region  and  thus  the  proportion  of  the  non- 
Caucasian  population  in  the  district  is  not  more  than  9%.  The  highest  per- 
centage of  other  than  Caucasian  tribes  is  found  near  Western,  Southern  and 
Eastern  boundaries  of  the  district,  while  the  thickly  populated  central 
part  of  the  region  has  an  insignificant  proportion  of  representatives  of 
other  tribes.  Thus  in  five  districts  of  the  Government  of  Tobolsk,  with  a 
total  population  of  1,600,000,  there  are  only  19,000  Tartars,  less  than  1.2%. 
The  chart  No.-  8  shows  the  distribution  of  the  population  of  other  than  the 
Caucasian  race.  These  tribes  are  less  civilized  than  the  Russian  popula- 
tion of  the  same  district.        " 

Kirghyz.  The  great  majority  of  these  tribes  represented  by  the 
Kirghyz  and  partly  by  the  Altai  tribes  are  still  nomads,  residing  during 
the  summer  in  portable  huts  made  of  felt,  and  in  the  winter  moving  into 
small,  cold,  and  dirty  earth-beaten  huts,  where  they  crowd  together  with 
newly-born  calves'  and  lambs  to  prevent  both  men  and  animals  from  perish- 
ing in  the  severe  cold. 

v' Stock- raisftg  IS  the'only  trade  of  the  nomads.  They  have  lately 
acquired  the-  habit  of  settling,  forJand  cultivation,  but  this  development 
is  progressing  very  slowfei^'V  • 

■BaShlfirs.  The  Bashkirs  in  the  Government  of  Orenburg,  although 
they  h^ve  left  behind  the  nomadic  mode  of  living,  are  lazy,  careless,  bad 
farmers  and  in  spite  of  the  abundance  of  land  to  be  had,  they  remain  poor. 

■"-'The  Altai  Tribes  and  Tartars.  Almost  exactly  the  same  must  be  said 
of  the  Altai  tribes.  The  Tartars  of  the  Governments  of  Tomsk  and 
especially  of  Tobolsk  are  more  civilized.  They  are  all  permanently  settled 
arid  their  houses  are  sometimes  quite  well  arranged,  they  cultivate  land  and 
trade.  Most  of  them  read  and  write  their  own  language,  some  of  them 
know  the  Russian  language,  but  the  majority  are  poorer  than  the  Rus- 
sians and  their  methods  of  agriculture  are  less  advanced. 

Russians.  The  Russian  population  in  the  butter-making  district  is 
divided  into  three  groups :  1.  The  "old-timers,"  that  is  the  descendants  of 
the  first  settlers  who  came  into  the  country  150  to  300  years  ago,  2.   Emi- 

27 


28 


AND  OTHER  CO-OPERATIVE   ASSOCIATIONS 


grants  who  came  into  the  country  from  European  Russia  during  the  last 
25-30  years,  and  still  preserve  all  the  habits  of  the  mother  country,  and 
3.  Cossacks,  who  live  in  villages,  descend  mainly  fi'om  the  old-timers, 
are  liable  for  military  service,  and  have  military  organizations. 

The  old-timers  are  the  most  numerous  and  economically  strong  group. 
They  live  in  large  villages  in  well  built  wooden  houses,  which  often  have 
two  floors  with  2  to  4  living  rooms.  Food,  clothing,  furniture  and  house- 
hold utensils  are  more  plentiful  among  the  old-timers  and  of  better 
quality  than  those  of  the  peasants  of  European  Russia. 

It  is  quite  common  to  find,  in  the  houses  of  the  old-timers,  floor  carpets, 
window  curtains,  wall-papers,  good  lamps  and  mirrors,  furniture,  stuffed 
and  of  bent  wood  (from  Vienna),  photographic  pictures,  gramophones  and 
flowers,  all  of  which  one  will  seek  in  vain  in  a  poor  house  of  the  peasant 
of  European  Russia.  A  sewing  machine  is  a  necessary  part  of  every 
household,  and  the  majority  of  the  old-timers  have  hay  mowers,  harvesters, 
ploughs,  cultivators  and  other  agricultural  machinery.  They  usually  have 
also  nice  sleighs  and  traps,  good  harness  and  good  horses  for  personal  use. 

The  peasants,  old-timers,  of  Western  Siberia  are  descendants  of  the 
emigrants  from  European  Russia,  mainly  from  the  north,  where  long  ago 
the  emigrants  from  Free  Novgorod  lived.  This  ancient  republic  has  never 
known  the  serfdom  of  interior  Russia.  The  ancestors  of  the  old-timers 
brought  to  Siberia  their  love  of  freedom,  strong  character,  and  steady 
working  habits,  which  have  developed  in  the  severe  surroundings  of  the 
forests  of  their  motherland. 

Among  them  were  many  "old  believers,"  who  were  persecuted  for  their 
creed  and  who  sought  the  freedom  of  their  conscience  in  the  free  lands 
of  Siberia.  These  were  people  of  high  morality,  well  disciplined,  moderate, 
industrious  and  reliable  comrades. 

In  the  expanse  of  Siberia,  where  Mother  Nature  generously  rewards 
the  industrious  but  does  not  favor  the  idle,  the  moral  qualities  of  descend- 
ants of  the  energetic  and  freedom-loving  Novgorodians  have  developed 
still  more. 

The  Siberian  is  distinguished  from  his  Trans-Ural  cousin  by  his  highly 
developed  sense  of  individuality,  for  he  has  never  known  the  humiMating 
influence  of  serfdom.  The  material  prosperity,  obtained  solely  by  work 
and  brainpower,  has  still  more  developed  his  self  respect  as  well  as  his 
requirements.  He  is  not  satisfied  with  the  primitive  pauper  mode  of  life 
to  which  the  peasant  of  European  Russia  has  grown  accustomed.  The 
Siberian  peasant  moulds  his  life  after  the  "city"  manner. 

The  fight  against  natural  hardships  has  developed  courage,  resourceful- 
ness, and  quiet,  manly  bearing.  They  make  the  best  soldiers  in  the  Rus- 
sian army.  Life  in  a  prosperous  but  ungracious  country  has  developed  the 
reasoning  and  calculating  facilities,  little  favoring  the  sense  of  and  lean- 
ings to  the  beautiful. 

Though  the  number  of  persons  who  read  and  write  is  proportionately 

29 


30 


AND  OTHER  CO-OPERATIVE  ASSOCIATIONS 


smaller  among  the  Siberian  population  than  among  the  population  of 
European  Russia,  the  Siberian  looks  more  intelligent  and  civilized  than  his 
Trans-Ural  cousin.  The  Siberian  resident  is  not  a  man  of  routine  and 
readily  accepts  innovations  and  improvements. 

Emigrants.  The  second  distinct  group  of  the  Russian  population  of 
this  district  are  emigrants  from  divers  governments  of  European  Russia, 
who  were  driven  to  Siberia  by  the  overcrowded  state  of  the  peasant  lands. 
They  were  assisted  by  the  Government  by  reduced  fares,  money  loans  and 
grants,  medical  and  feeding  organizations  on  the  way  and  at  the  places 
of  destination.  They  were  also  induced  to  come  to  this  country  by  exemp- 
tions from  taxes  and  from  conscription  during  the  first  years.  The  emi- 
grants settled  in  the  butter-making  district  and  the  neighborhood,  during 
the  time  from  1893  to  1912,  numbered  in  round  iigures  as  follows:  Govern- 
ment of  Tomsk,  1,100,000;  Province  of  Akmolinsk,  600,000;  Government 
of  Tobolsk,  320,000;  Province  of  Tourgai,  200,000;  Province  of  Semi- 
palatinsk  about  100,000. 

The  emigrants  generally  are  considerably  poorer  than  the  old-timers 
and  unfavorably  compare  with  the  latter  on  account  of  their  slovenliness, 
scarcity  of  household  furnishings,  and  less  developed  requirements.  Yet 
many  of  them  brought  from  their  motherland,  where  life  was  more  dif- 
ficult, the  habit  of  steady  work,  and  this  soon  enabled  them  to  rise  to  a 
high  degree  of  material  prosperity  in  Siberia.  This  is  especially  true  with 
regard  to  the  Little  Russians,  who  are  good  farm.ers  and  have  been  used 
in  the  old  country  to  the  methods  of  cultivating  dry  steppes. 

Cossacks.  Cossacks  came  to  the  butter-maliing  district  at  the  time  of 
the  Kirghyz  and  Bashkirs  raids  on  Russian  settlers.  That  was  before 
these  tribes  became  subjected  to  Russian  rule.  The  Cossacks  settled  in 
parts  of  the  districts  of  Cheliabinsk,  Troitzk  and  Verkhneuralsk,  all  of 
the  Government  of  Orenburg,  also  along  the  whole  northern  boundary  of 
the  Province  of  Akmolinsk  and  on  both  banks  of  the  river  Irtysh  from  10  to 
40  versts  (10.67  to  42.68  kilometers  or  6.63  to  26.52  miles)  deep  in  the 
Provinces  of  Akmolinsk  and  Semipalatinsk,  and  also  on  a  considerable 
area  in  the  district  of  Kokchetav,  Province  of  Akmolinsk. 

The  whole  Cossack  population  in  the  district  of  the  Siberian  butter- 
making  is  about  300,000.  Half  of  this  number  belongs  to  the  Siberian 
Cossack  Troop,  whose  settlements  are  situated  in  the  Provinces  of 
Akmolinsk  and  Semipalatinsk.  The  other  half  belongs  to  the  Orenburg 
Cossack  Ti'oop  and  live  in  the  three  above  mentioned  districts  of  the 
Province  of  Orenburg. 

The  Cossacks  are  more  developed,  more  educated  and  more  advanced 
in  their  internal  organization  than  the  peasants,  (old-timers) ,  but  the  latter 
are  better  farmers.  The  Cossacks,  being  liable  to  military  service,  cannot 
give  their  undivided  attention  to  their  farms.     Although  the  Cossacks 

31 


THE   UNION   OF  THE   SIBERIAN   CREAMERY 


have  more  land  than  the  peasants,   (the  old-timers),  they  are  no  richer 
than  the  latter. 

Means  of  Communication.  (Chart  No.  9).  As  is  well  known,  cheap  and 
convenient  means  of  communication  are  of  primary  importance  for  the 
industrial  development  of  a  country.  In  this  respect  the  conditions  (>f  the 
district  of  Siberian  butter-making  are  not  quite  favorable. 

Owing  to  scanty  irrigation,  the  rivers  of  the  district  are  shallow,  while 
natural  dry  roads  and  cheap  water  ways  are  very  few. 


Kiver    Obi    n?ar    Tnwn    rf    Bxrn'in! 

Navigable  Rivers.  The  following  rivers  of  the  district  are  navigable: 
Obi,  from  the  point  of  its  becoming  navigable  to  the  boundary  of  the  dis- 
trict i.  e.  for  about  1300  versts,  Irtysh,  along  its  entire  course  through 
the  district  for  2500  versts,  Tom,  for  550  versts  and  Charysh,  for  about 
340  versts.  The  waterway  of  415  versts  from  Tobolsk  to  Tiumen,  though 
outside  the  district,  must  be  mentioned  here,  as  it  constitutes  the  exten- 
sion of  the  Obi  and  Irtysh  before  Tiumen,  where  the  most  western  point 
of  the  navigation  of  the  Obi  system  joins  the  Russian  railway  system. 

The  total  length  of  the  water  ways  in  the  district  is  about  5,105  versts 
or  3360  miles,  which  is  the  rate  of  one  verst  of  water  way  to  each  224 
squai'e  versts  of  land  or  1  mile  of  water  way  to  each  152  square  miles. 

As  can  be  seen  from  the  map  the  water  ways  allow  goods  to 
be  moved  from  the  richest  south-eastern  part  of  the  district — the  upper 
flow  of  the  Obi  and  Irtysh — in  the  westerly  direction  towards  Tiumen  on 
the  way  to  the  markets  of  European  Russia  and  Western  Europe. 

This  is  a  great  convenience,  as  it  enables  low  valued  goods  to  use  cheap 
water  transport  over  a  considerable  distance  on  their  way  to  the  markets. 

32 


AND  OTHER  CO-OPERATIVE   ASSOCIATIONS 


This  waterway  from  the  upper  flow  of  the  Irtysh, — along  the  Irtysh, 
Tobol  and  Toura— is  3392  versts  or  2249  English  miles  long.  From  the 
upper  flow  of  the  Obi  and  Tiumen — along  the  Obi,  Irtysh,  Tobol  and  Toura 
— the  distance  is  almost  the  same,  namely  3338  versts  or  2262  miles. 

As  drawbacks  of  the  Siberian  waterways  must  be  mentioned  the  short 
period  of  navigation — from  the  end  of  April  to  the  beginning  of  October — 
and  the  low  water  in  the  summer  months  from  the  middle  of  June  on- 
wards— which  affect  the  greater  part  of  the  above  mentioned  rivers. 

Low  water  is  especially  noticeable  at  the  upper  flow  of  the  rivers: 
Obi  up  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  Charysh  and  during  very  hot  and  dry 
summers  as  far  as  the  mouth  of  the  Tom;  Irtysh  as  far  as  Pavlodar; 
Tobol  and  Toura,  especially  in  the  most  western  section,  where,  toward  the 
end  of  a  hot  and  dry  summer,  water  in  shallow  places  is  not  deeper  than 
28  inches.    This  greatly  affects  steam  navigation. 

Of  the  rivers  which  are  good  only  for  very  small  craft  and  rafting, 
deserve  mention  the  Omi,  Tara  and  tributaries  of  the  Obi — the  Alei  and 
Charysh,  the  latter  being  good  in  its  lower  course  for  steam  navigation. 

The  water  ways  are  not  utilized  to  their  full  capacity,  as  may  be 
seen  from  the  fact  that  in  1913  on  the  entire  Obi  system  there  were  afloat 
only  122  self  propelling  vessels  and  about  600  bai'ges  with  an  average 
carrying  capacity  of  60,300  poods  or  about  1,000  tons  each. 

The  volume  of  goods  traffic  on  all  rivers  of  the  Obi  basin  in  1909 
reached  22,320,000  cwt.,  the  annual  increase  for  the  years  1904-1909  being 
about  2.5%. 

The  Northern  Route.  The  waterways  of  Siberia  have  an  outlet  into 
the  Arctic  Ocean  through  the  Kara  Sea.  Until  recently  this  route  was 
used  very  little,  and  the  Kara  Sea  was  considered  almost  entirely  im- 
passable. The  attempts  and  investigations  of  recent  years  have,  however, 
shown  that  this  route  can  be  used  provided  aids  to  navigation  are  estab- 
lished and  properly  maintained,  and  wireless  stations  and  seaplanes  report 
on  the  movements  of  floating  ice.  This  inspires  a  hope  for  Siberia  soon 
to  have  a  cheap  sea  route  for  exporting  the  produce  of  the  country. 

Railroads.  The  district  is  very  poorly  equipped  with  railroads.  The 
total  length  of  all  completed  and  working  railroads  is  only  3915 
versts  or  2635  miles,  i.  e.  for  each  1000  sq.  versts  there  is  2.75  versts  of 
railroad  or  1.5  miles  for  each  1000  sq.  miles. 

These  figures  show  that  the  district  of  the  Siberian  butter-making'  has 
proportionately  16  times  less  railroads  than  the  United  States,  4  times 
less  than  European  Russia  and  111  times  less  than  Belgium. 

All  railways  have  about  125  stations,  not  counting  switching  tracks 
between  the  stations.  As  to  the  goods  traffic  on  the  railways  within  the 
district,  the  figures  are  given  below. 

33 


THE  UNION  OF  THE   SIBERIAN   CREAMERY 


Unmade  Roads.  With  such  slight  development  in  waterways  and  rail- 
roads, the  natural  roads  acquire  a  great  importance,  which  increases  in 
winter  time  when  the  rivers  and  lakes  freeze  over  and  snow  facilitates  sleigh 
transportation.  Winter  is  the  busiest  time  of  the  year  for  goods  traffic 
along  the  roads.  In  summer  time  the  roads  in  the  district  are  quite  good, 
with  the  exception  of  those  in  the  Altai  mountain  district.  This  locality  is 
naturally  uneven,  has  a  moist  climate  and  a  great  number  of  rivers  and 
lakes. 

Many  roads,  especially  in  the  Southern  part  of  the  district,  are  fit  for 
automobile  traffic  without  any  artificial  improvements  except  the  erection 
of  a  few  bridges. 

There  are  no  stone  jacketed  roads  in  the  district,  owing  to  the  absence 
of  stone. 

Before  the  war  winter  transportation  by  natural  roadway  was  very 
cheap,  namely  0.012-0.056  copeck  per  pood-verst,  or  about  0.134  c.  per 
cwt.-mile. 


Creamery   of    the   Souskanikhin    Co-operative    Association    (Govt,   of    Altai),    Member    of    the    Union 


Main  Occupation  of  the  Population.  The  chief  occupation  of  the  popu- 
lation of  the  Siberian  butter-making  district  is  corn  production  and  stock- 
raising. 

Cultivated  Area.  There  is  not  less  than  5,600,000  desiatins  (14,952,000 
acres)  of  cultivated  land  in  the  district,  which  equals  4.65%  of  the  whole 

34 


AND  OTHER  CO-OPERATIVE   ASSOCIATIONS 


area  of  the  district  or  ten  times  less  than  in  civilized  countries  of  Western 
Europe  and  four  times  less  than  in  50  provinces  of  European  Russia, 
populated  by  Russians. 

Assuming  that  the  percentage  of  land  which  is  unfit  for  cultivation 
in  the  district  is  not  higher  than  in  other  countries,  and  perhaps  is  even 
lower  on  account  of  the  plain  character  of  the  larger  part  of  the  area, 
the  above  mentioned  figures  show  that  the  capacity  of  the  district  for 
agriculture  has  been  hardly  tapped. 

The  average  area  of  seeded  land  per  head  varies  in  various  parts  of 
the  district.  Near  the  northern  boundary  of  the  district,  for  example,  in 
the  district  of  Yalutorovsk  the  average  area  of  seeded  land  per  head  is 
0.87  desiatin,  or  2.32  acres,  and  in  the  district  of  Kainsk,  Government  of 
Tomsk— 0,74  desiatins  (2  acres).  The  highest  averages  of  sown  land  are 
found  in  the  districts  of  Kourgan  and  Tiukalinsk,  Government  of  Tobolsk, 
namely  1.15  desiatins  (3.1  acres)  per  head,  district  of  Kokchetav,  Pro- 
vince of  Akmolinsk,  1.26  desiatins  (3.37  acres),  districts  of  Barnaul  and 
Kamen,  Government  of  Altai — 1.29  desiatins  (3.4  acres),  district  of 
Zmeinogorsk,  Government  of  Altai — 1.5  desiatins  (5.53  acres). 

Plants  Cultivated.  The  largest  area — about  45% — is  occupied  by  wheat. 
Oats  take  up  about  35%  of  the  area  and  the  balance  of  about  20%  is  dis- 
ti'ibuted  among  other  plants — winter  and  spring  rye,  barley,  millet,  buck- 
wheat, peas,  flax,  hemp,  sunflowers,  potatoes,  and  spelt.  No  other  cereals 
or  industrial  plants  are  cultivated  in  the  district  except  insignificant 
plantations  of  watermelons  in  the  southern  part  of  the  district  due  south 
from  55  degrees  north  latitude. 

In  the  district  of  Zmeinogorsk  successful  experiments  have  been  made 
with  the  cultivation  of  sweet  beetroot,  and  the  construction  of  a  big  sugar 
refinery  is  contemplated. 

The  Methods  of  Agriculture.  On  account  of  the  abundance  and  na- 
tural high  fertility  of  the  land,  methods  of  agriculture,  as  applied  in  the 
district  are  extensive,  and  fertilization,  whether  with  manure  or  artificial 
compounds,  is  not  employed  except  by  a  very  few  individual  farmers  in  the 
northwestern  part  of  the  district.  The  system  of  agriculture  followed 
is  that  a  plot  of  land  is  sown  several  years  in  succession,  until  it  is  ex- 
hausted, then  left  for  five  to  ten  years  and  in  this  way  the  earth  recuperates 
Its  fertility.  In  more  thickly  populated  localities,  where  the  amount  of 
available  land  does  not  allow  this  system  of  agriculture  to  be  applied,  the 
land  is  sown  two  or  three  years  in  succession  and  then  left  alone  for  a  year, 
after  which  the  planting  begins  again.  Regular  rotation  of  various  crops 
on  several  fields  is  not  employed  in  the  district  at  all. 

Tilling  is  done  very  carefully.  Improved  agricultural  machines: 
ploughs,  cultivators,  hay  mowers,  harvesters,  seed-lips,  thrashing  machines 
and  winnowers  are  most  popular,  and  the  district  is  a  large  market  for 
agricultural  machinery  and  implements. 

35 


AND  OTHER  CO-OPERATIVE   ASSOCIATION'S 


Obstacles  to  Improved  Methods  of  Agriculture.  Among  the  obstacles 
to  greater  advancement  of  the  methods  of  agriculture,  besides  the  abund- 
ance of  land  and  still  inexhausted  natural  fertility  of  the  soil,  must  be 
placed  the  prevailing  communal  form  of  land  ownership  in  the  district. 

Except  for  a  few  privately  owned  farms  in  the  southern  districts  of  the 
Government  of  Tobolsk,  cossack  land,  and  a  few  villages  which  adopted  one- 
piece-privately-owned-farms-method,  all  the  rest  of  the  tillers  in  the  dis- 
trict own  their  land  on  the  principle  of  communal  proprietorship. 

Communal  Land  Ownership.  Eiach  family  receives  a  plot  of  land,  for 
temporary  use  or  for  an  indefinite  period,  in  proportion  to  the  number  of 
tax  payers,  or  tillers,  or  males  in  the  family.  When  changes  in  the  compo- 
sition of  families  and  increase  of  population  render  the  distribution  of  land 
unequal,  a  general  re-distribution  of  land  is  arranged. 

Hay  meadows  are  divided  each  year  with  the  observance  of  possible 
equality,  pastures  are  in  common  use,  woods  are  mostly  exploited  on  the 
same  principle,  and  the  cutting  of  timber  is  also  carried  out  on  the  prin- 
ciple of  equal  sharing.  In  some  localities  woods  are  divided  in  the  same  way 
as  is  the  arable  land. 

This  mode  of  land  utilization,  while  guaranteeing  to  every  member  of 
the  community  a  plot  of  land,  at  the  same  time  hinders  every  improvement 
in  the  methods  of  agriculture  to  a  considerable  degree,  as  no  one  cares  to 
spend  money  to  improve  land  which  at  the  next  re-distribution  may  be 
taken  from  him. 

Big  agricultural  properties  of  capitalistic  character  are  exceedingly 
scarce  in  the  district,  as  the  high  average  prosperity  of  the  population  and 
the  possibility  for  everybody  to  work  his  own  farm  almost  entirely  does 
away  with  the  chances  of  finding  a  sufficient  amount  of  hired  agricultural 
labour. 

Measures  to  Improve  the  Technique  of  Agriculture.  The  Government 
has  been  constantly  taking  measures  to  improve  the  technique  of  agricul- 
ture. Each  Province  or  Government  has  an  agronomical  organizatioa  com- 
posed of  specialists,  instructors  and  people  with  technical  knowledge  in 
various  branches  of  agriculture,  whose  aim  is  to  acquaint  the  population 
with  the  best  methods  of  utilizing  the  land.  To  prepare  the  members  of 
these  agronomical  organizations  there  are  several  middle  schools  of  agri- 
culture, a  college  of  agi-iculture  in  Omsk,  and  about  ten  preparatory  schools 
of  agriculture  and  of  dairying. 

Fertility.  The  fertility  in  the  district  of  the  Siberian  butter-making, 
on  account  of  the  climatic  conditions,  is  extremely  uneven.  In  very  dry 
years  the  soil  sometimes  does  not  yield  anything,  while  in  years  when  the 
amount  of  precipitation  is  sufficient,  plentiful  crops  are  gathered.     The 

37 


THE   UNION  OF  THE   SIBERIAN   CREAMERY 


highest  yield  of  wheat,  barley  and  oats  must  be  taken  at  300  poods  per 
desiatin,  or  36.1  cwts.  per  acre,  while  a  medium  yield  can  be  taken  at  100 
poods  per  desiatin,  or  12  cwts.  per  acre. 

Potatoes,  which  are  seldom  grown  in  the  open  fields,  yield,  accordmg  to 
the  humidity  of  the  summer,  from  400  to  1000  poods  per  desiatin  (48-120 
cwts.  per  acre).  The  lowest  yield  (about  10'',  of  the  medium  yield)  is  ob- 
served in  the  northern  section  of  the  district,  in  the  region  of  woods  and  in 
the  contiguous  region  of  the  wooded  steppe,  while  the  highest  yields  have 
been  obtained  in  the  southeastern  region  of  the  Altai,  owing  to  this  sec- 
tion being  situated  more  towards  the  south,  having  a  greater  amount  of 
annual  precipitation  and  the  soil  being  of  higher  quality.  Large  crops 
are  gathered  in  the  Kokchetav  mountainous  country,  where  there  is, 
during  the  summer,  a  larger  amount  of  precipitation  than  in  the  plains. 

Causes  Affeding  the  Crops.  Drought  does  more  damage  to  crops  than 
anything  else.  Dry  spells  occur  more  often  in  the  spring  and  during  the 
first  half  of  the  summer.  In  dry  years  there  appear  enormous  swarms  of 
"Kobylka,"  an  insect  of  the  grasshopper  family  and  very  like  a  locust. 

This  "Kobylka"  devours  the  crops  and  is  a  veritable  plague  for  the 
agriculturist.  Frequently  crops  are  damaged  by  the  spring  and  especially 
early  autumn  frosts,  which  kill  the  young  plants. 

Quantities  of  Agricultural  Products.  Notwithstanding  the  low  standard 
of  the  technique  of  agriculture  and  low  crops,  the  average  harvest  of  corn 
in  the  district  is  much  greater  than  is  necessary  for  the  local  population, 
and  the  district  annually  exports  a  considerable  amount  of  corn  and 
other  agricultural  products. 

Thus  the  Government  of  Tobolsk  in  the  years  of  medium  sized  harvests 
has  an  excess  of  20,000,000  poods,  or  6,400,000  cwt.  of  corn,  and  in  good 
years  this  surplus  is  doubled.  The  excess  of  corn  in  the  Government  of 
Tomsk  and  Altai,  which  have  almost  twice  the  population  of  the  Guvern- 
ment  of  Tobolsk,  is  considerably  larger. 

During  the  year  1916,  there  were  sown  in  both  these  Governments 
29,500,000  poods,  or  9,500,000  cwts.  of  various  cereals.  The  yield  was  120,- 
000,000  poods,  or  39,000,000  cwts.  The  surplus  available  for  export  must 
be  reckoned  at  not  less  than  one  third  of  the  total,  40,000,000  poods,  or 
13,000,000  cwts.  The  provinces  of  Akmolinsk  and  Semipaiatinsk  produce 
yearly  60  to  100  millions  poods  or  19.3-32  million  cwts.  of  corn. 

Export  of  Agricultural  Products.  One  can  gather  some  idea  of  the 
amount  of  agricultural  produce  of  the  district  from  the  figures  supplied  by 
the  railway  authorities.  The  latest  figures  available  refer  to  the  year  1915. 
During  that  year  the  railways  of  Western  Siberia  dealt  with  61,818,127 
poods,  or  19,900,000  cwts.  of  wheat  (in  grain  and  flour),  rye  and  oats  in- 
voiced for  export  to  European  Russia  and  abroad ;  also  2,039,954  poods,  or 

38 


AND  OTHER   CO-OPERATIVE   ASSOCIATIONS 


658,000  cwts.  of  bran ;  706,223  poods,  or  277,000  cwts.  of  oil  yielding  seeds, 
mainlj'  linseed  and  hempseed;  745,466  poods,  or  240,000  cwts.  of  flax 
and  hemp  fibre. 

Stock  Raising.  Another  source  of  prosperity  in  the  district  is  supplied 
by  stock  raising,  which  occupies  the  second  place. 

The  district  of  the  Siberian  butter-making  industry  presents  many  in- 
ducements to  stock  raising,  having  an  abundance  of  dry  and  open  steppes 
covei-ed  with  nutritious,  though  not  abundant  feeding  grass. 

There  is  plenty  of  space  both  for  grazing  in  the  summer  and  for  gather- 
ing fodder  for  the  winter. 


Creamery    of    the    Staro-Barda    Co-operative    Association    (Govt,    of    Altai),    Member    of    the    Union 

The  exposed  situation  and  the  constant  winds  do  not  allow  blood-sucking 
insects  to  breed  to  the  extent  of  becoming  a  plague  to  the  live  stock,  as  is 
the  case  in  wooded  localities. 

The  presence  of  saline  soil  is  very  useful,  as  the  cattle  like  salt  and 
greatly  benefit  by  licking  it. 

In  the  southern  and  central  parts  of  the  district  the  nomadic  Kirghiz 
allow  their  cattle  to  browse  in  the  open  the  whole  year  round,  as  usually 
the  snow  is  not  very  deep.  In  the  eastern  part  of  the  district  and  near  its 
southern  boundary  the  presence  of  mountainous  pastures  is  beneficial  to 
stock-raising. 

39 


E 


AND  OTHER  CO-OPERATIVE   ASSOCIATIONS 


Unfavorable  Conditions  for  Stock  Raising.  Among  the  circumstances 
that  are  unfavorable  to  stock  raising  are  the  very  severe  winters  and  rime, 
which  occasionally  occurs  in  the  steppe  region,  when,  during  the  winter,  it 
begins  to  rain  and  immediately  freezes  up,  the  result  of  which  is  a  layer 
forming  a  hard  crust  on  top  of  the  snow.  The  cattle  are  unable  to  get  the 
grass  from  under  this  crust  and  die  of  hunger. 

This  rime  is  a  great  calamity  for  the  nomadic  Kirghyz  and  by  it  many  of 
them  are  deprived  of  all  their  property.  The  acuteness  of  this  evil  has 
been  greatly  diminished  since  the  introduction  of  hay  mowers,  which  enable 
the  owners  to  gather  sufficient  fodder  for  the  winter  even  from  the  poor 
meadows  of  the  steppe.  Another  calamity  of  the  nomadic  stock  raisers  is 
the  great  blizzards,  which  often  destroy  whole  herds  of  cattle. 

Russian  and  Kirghyz  stock  raising  suffers  equally  from  periodical 
droughts,  during  which,  owing  to  the  scarcity  of  fodder,  it  becomes  neces- 
sary to  cut  down  the  number  of  cattle. 

Murrains,  especially  rinderpest,  which  at  one  time  did  great  damage 
to  the  Siberian  stock  raising,  have  been  deprived  of  their  power  by  the 
organization  of  veterinary  assistance  and  now  only  sporadically  an  out- 
break of  anthrax,  epizootic  pneumonia  or  aphthae  epizooticae  occurs. 

The  Kirghyz  Method  of  Stock  Raising.  The  Kirghyz  conduct  their  stock 
raising  in  a  very  primitive  way:  the  cattle  are  herded  in  the  fields  the 
whole  year  round,  very  few  of  this  tribe  store  fodder  for  the  winter  and 
when  this  is  done  at  all,  it  is  on  a  very  small  scale.  Roofed  or  even  walled 
winter  premises  for  cattle  are  almost  unknown.  In  order  to  feed  the  cattle 
in  the  open  the  whole  year  round,  the  Kirghyz  are  compelled  to  drive  their 
cattle  from  the  winter  pastures,  which  are  mostly  selected  near  rivers  and 
in  the  lowlands  where  the  grass  is  longer  and  more  plentiful — to  summer 
pastures,  preferably  in  the  mountains  or  in  the  open  dry  steppes.  The 
hardship  of  their  existence  reflects  itself  in  the  quality  of  the  Kirghyz 
live  stock. 

Kirghyz  horses  are  small  and  unsightly,  but  their  endurance  is  extra- 
ordinary. The  cattle  are  small  and  the  cows  yield  little  milk,  as  their  calves 
are  not  weaned  and  only  that  amount  of  milk  is  collected  w^hich  is  left 
after  the  calf  is  satisfied.  That  is  one  of  the  reasons  why  butter  making 
does  not  become  a  staple  trade  among  the  Kirghyz.  Sheep  and  goats  of 
Kirghyz  breed  are  large  and  fat,  but  the  wool  is  coarse.  Kirghyz  sheep  have 
fat  deposits  on  the  tail  which  reach  as  much  as  30  lbs.  and  are  called 
"kourdiuk."  A  peculiarity  of  Kirghyz  stock  raising  is  the  breeding  of 
camels,  a  branch  of  stock  raising  not  practised  by  the  Russians. 

Russian  Stock  Raising.  Russians,  who  own  much  more  live  stock  in  the 
district  than  the  nomads  employ  better  methods  of  stock  raising,  though 
these  methods  are  far  from  being  perfect. 

41 


THE   UNION   OF   THE   SIBERIAN   CREAMERY 


Fodder  is  laid  in  store  for  the  winter,  but  very  often  even  milch  cows 
are  fed  on  straw  the  whole  winter. 

Cattle  are  kept  in  special  enclosures,  which  are  mostly  cold,  often  un- 
roofed, and  at  best  have  roofs  of  very  light  construction. 

Siberian  Live  Stock.  No  grass  or  zhizocarpic  plants  are  sown  and 
therefoi-e  the  feeding  of  cattle  is  not  quite  satisfactory.  Owing  to  this, 
the  cattle  of  the  Siberian  peasantry  are  smaller  and  less  productive  than 
those  of  improved  breeds  of  European  Russia,  but  at  the  same  time  they 
require  much  less  care,  and  possess  a  greater  power  of  resistance  against 
disease. 

Besides  this,  the  Siberian  cattle  are  capable  of  great  improvement  with 
the  least  betterment  of  care  and  feeding,  and  this  capacity  constitutes  a 
valuable  asset  for  the  stock  owner. 

The  Siberian  horse  is  small,  but  capable  of  great  endurance.  A  con- 
tinuous run  at  the  rate  of  15  versts  per  hour  (17  kilometres  or  10  miles) 
for  two  or  three  hours,  or  a  journey  without  food  and  with  a  short  rest 
for  100  versts  (114  kilometres,  or  66  miles),  is  a  common  occurrence. 

The  Siberian  cow  yields  lass  milk  than  the  cultivated  breeds.  One  can 
judge  the  milk  productiveness  of  Russian  Siberian  cattle  from  the  follow- 
ing: according  to  the  e.\act  data,  for  ten  years,  collected  by  the  Government 
organization  which  controls  butter-making,  in  the  Government  of  Tobolsk, 
the  average  amount  of  milk  from  a  cow  supplied  to  butter-making  works 
was  49  poods,  or  1770  lbs.  At  the  same  time  this  figure  does  not  express 
the  average  milk  yield  of  cows,  as  a  considerable  part  of  the  milk  i^  con- 
sumed by  the  owner's  family. 

In  practice  a  peasant's  cow  yields  from  1800  to  3600  lbs.  of  milk. 

On  the  Kainsk  farm  of  instruction,  where  Siberian  cattle  are  fed  ration- 
ally and  are  well  cared  for,  the  average  yield  of  milk  per  year  was  lOG  poods 
(3816  lbs.),  while  the  highest  individual  annual  yield  was  168  poods  or 
6048  lbs. 

While  not  amounting  to  great  quantities,  the  milk  of  Siberian  cows  is 
distinguished  by  its  high  percentage  of  fat,  averaging  4.5%,  and  even  7.6% 
has  been  observed.  The  cattle  of  western  Europe  usually  have  no  more 
than  S.5'r  of  fat  in  their  milk. 

Sheep  of  Russian  breed  are  not  so  fat  as  those  of  the  Kirghyz,  have  no 
"kourdiuk"  and  their  wool  is  much  finer  and  softer. 

Sheep  Breeding  and  Its  Future.  Dry  pastures,  herbs,  nutritious  though 
small,  and  the  abundance  of  saline  soils  are  conditions  especially  favourable 
for  the  development  of  sheep-breeding  in  the  district  of  the  Siberian  butter 
making. 

The  country  due  south  from  the  district,  spreading  to  the  boundaries 
of  Turkestan,  e.xceeds  in  size  the  butter-making  district  and  even  with  the 

42 


AND  OTHER  CO-OPERATIVE   ASSOCIATIONS 


development  of  the  agricultural  technique,  can  be  used  almost  exclusively 
for  pastures  and  especially  for  sheep  raising. 

The  cultivation  of  land  in  this  locality  is  possible  only  with  the  aid  of 
artificial  irrigation,  and  this  can  be  done  only  in  a  few  places. 

The  whole  locality  gravitates  economically  toward  railroads  which  cut 
through  the  butter-making  district  in  Siberia. 

As  long  as  sheep-raising  was  in  the  hands  of  peasants  and  the  Kirghyz, 
who  required  from  the  sheep  only  mutton,  wooled  skins  for  winter  wear 
and  coarse  wool  for  felt  boots,  stockings,  mittens  and  linings,  the  sheep- 
rearing  did  not  yield  big  profits  and  could  not  develop  quickly. 

However,  experience  of  recent  years  proves  that  fine-wooled  sheep 
(merino)  can  be  bred  in  the  Siberian  steppes  wuth  the  greatest  success. 

Some  sheep-breeders  in  Southern  Russia,  where  their  trade  was  threat- 
ened by  the  growing  wheat  industry,  transferred  their  herds  to  the  steppes 
of  the  Province  of  Akmolinsk.  This  experiment  has  been  eminently  success- 
ful and  in  1913  there  were  in  the  Province  of  Akmolinsk  more  than  38,000 
merino  sheep.  In  the  same  locality,  the  breeding  of  Karakul  sheep,  which 
were  brought  from  Turkestan,  has  also  been  very  successful  and  in  1913 
the  number  of  these  animals  whose  fur  is  so  valued,  reached  23,000.  The 
war  has  suspended  this  useful  trade,  but  there  is  every  reason  to  expect  a 
great  development  in  the  breeding  of  Karakul  sheep  when  conditions  be- 
come peaceful  again. 

Stock  Raising-  in  Figures.  The  following  table  shows  how  stock  raising 
in  the  Siberian  butter-making  district  compares  with  other  countries  and 
localities: 


Countries  and 

Number  of  animals  per 

100 

people 

Provinces  of 

Western  Siberia 

Horses 

Cattle 

Sheep  &  Goats 

Pigs 

Camels 

U.  S.  A. 

21.5 

59 

50 

65 

Entire  *Russia 

26 

84 

48 

10 

Denmark 

25.1 

88.8 

18.6 

90 

Govt,  of  Tobolsk 

40 

48 

35 

158 

Govt,  of  Tomsk 

57 

67 

77 

15 

Province  of  Akmolinsk 

112 

100 

330 

I 

16 

Province  of  Semipalatinsk  100 

102 

209 

4 

From  the  above  table  one  can  see  that  in  the  butter-making  district 
stock  rearing  is  greatly  developed,  but  the  limit  of  its  development  is  as 
yet  far  from  being  reached. 

When-  certain  improvements  which  are  accessible  to  the  population  are 
introduced,  such  as  fully  developed  grass  sowing,  cultivation  of  forage 
plants,  improved  feeding  and  winter  housing  of  cattle,  increase  in  the  num- 
ber of  hay  mowing  machines,  development  of  means  of  communication  and 

43 


;;4 ':  Sk    ^ 


E 


AND  OTHER  CO-OPERATIVE   ASSOCIATIONS 


of  utilization  of  animal  products,  all  of  which  is  bound  to  raise  the  prices 
for  cattle,  stock  raising  must  develop  still  more  and  it  is  difficult  to 
foresee  the  extent  of  its  development. 

In  addition  to  the  above,  there  are  in  the  district  of  the  Siberian  butter- 
making  and  in  the  adjacent  localities,  pi-ojected  new  railways  totalling 
about  3,000  versts,  or  2,000  English  miles. 

These  new  railways  are  shown  on  the  attached  map.  They  promise  to 
invigorate  the  Southern  section  of  the  butter-making  district,  which  is  well 
suited  to  stock  raising  and  enormously  rich  in  minerals  such  as  coal,  copper, 
silver  and  lead.  No  doubt  the  new  railways  will  facilitate  expansion  of  the 
Siberian  butter-making  district  in  the  southern  direction  by  prodding 
means  for  export  of  cream  butter  to  the  distant  markets. 

Measures  to  Improve  Stock  Raising.  The  Government,  Zemstovs  and 
the  Union  of  the  Siberian  Creamery  Associations  do  much  to  spread  theo- 
retical and  practical  knowledge  of  improved  methods  of  caring  for  cattle, 
especially  with  regard  to  warm  stock  yards  and  proper  feeding,  and  as  a 
result  of  this  propaganda  marked  improvements  have  been  observed  in 
the  more  civilized  northwestern  part  of  the  district  and  also  in  other  locali- 
ties. In  many  villages  of  the  district  of  Kourgan  and  Yalutorovsk,  the 
peasants  appreciate  the  usefulness  of  warm  stock  yards  and  energetically 
construct  them.  To  make  the  peasants  realize  the  profitableness  of  im- 
proved feeding  and  tending  of  milch  stock,  the  Union  of  the  Siberian 
Creamery  Associations  employs  a  staff  of  agronomic  specialists  and  spends 
considerable  sums  of  money  on  special  establishments  to  demontrate  the 
perfected  methods. 

Export  of  Products  of  Stock  Raising.  At  present  a  considerable  amount 
of  the  products  of  stock  raising,  besides  cream  butter,  export  of  which  will 
be  discussed  later,  is  exported  to  European  Russia,  Eastern  Siberia  and 
abroad. 

Previous  to  the  war,  there  were  brought  on  foot  each  summer,  from 
the  south  to  the  towns  of  Omsk,  Petropavlovsk,  Kourgan,  Cheliabinsk, 
Troitzk  and  Ekaterinbourg,  360,000  heads  of  cattle  and  200,000  sheep.  Of 
this  amount  about  100,000  cattle  were  sent  by  rail  to  Petrograd,  and  the 
rest  slaughtered  and  sent  to  Moscow  and  Petrograd  as  frozen  meat. 

These  cattle  were  all  bought  from  the  Kirghyz  and  came  from  the 
steppe  regions. 

In  the  Government  of  Tomsk,  Tobolsk  and  Altai,  where  butter-making 
is  especially  developed,  there  were  slaughtered  each  autumn  about  300,000 
surplus  cattle  and  an  equal  number  of  surplus  sheep. 

During  the  whole  winter,  along  the  main  Siberian  railway,  there  moves 
an  increasing  flow  of  meat  from  east  towards  west. 

Commencing  east  of  Novo-Nikolaievsk,  a  stream  of  meat  reaches  this 
town  amounting  to  about  300,000  poods  (data  for  1913)  and  leaves  it  in- 

45 


THE   UNION   OF  THE    SIBERIAN   CREAMERY 


creased  by  local  contributions  to  about  900,000  poods.  At  Omsk  the  inpour 
of  meat  already  amounts  to  1,500,000  poods,  while  through  Cheliabinsk 
there  passes   approximately   2,500,000   poods    (806,000  cwts.). 

According  to  the  report  of  the  Omsk  railroad  for  1915,  there  passed 
through  all  the  stations  of  the  railroad,  mostly  westbound,  39,128  cattle 
on  foot,  and  2,980,571  poods,  or  960,000  cwts.  of  frozen  meat,  tallow  and 
hides. 

Export  of  Hides,  Wool,  Hair  and  Bristles.  Products  of  animal  industry 
other  than  meat,  were  exported  from  the  district  of  the  Siberian  butter- 
making  industry  and  also  from  the  neighboring  localities  which  gravitate 
to  the  district,  according  to  the  Government  Veterinary  organization, 
in  the  following  quantities:  horse  and  heifer  hides,  3,210,000;  goat  and 
sheep  skins,  9,950,000;  camel  hides,  28,000;  sheep  and  goat  wool  and  hair, 
1,730,000  poods,  or  558,000  cwts.;  camel  hair,  86,000  poods,  or  27,692 
cwts.;  bristles,  15,857  poods,  or  5,106  cwts.;  horse  hair,  56,124  poods,  or 
18,072  cwts. 

In  addition  there  were  exported  from  the  district  by  railroad  in  1915: 
eggs,  86.960  poods,  or  28,050  cwts. ;  killed  domestic  poultry,  45,563  poods, 
or  14,671  cwts;  killed  winged  game,  31,291  poods,  or  10,076  cwts. 

Agriculture  and  stock  raising  are  the  chief  occupations  of  the  popula- 
tion of  the  district  of  the  Siberian  butter-making  industry. 

A  few  lightly  developed  manufacturing  industries  exist  in  the  district. 
These  are  closely  connected  with  agriculture  and  stock  raising,  and  have 
for  their  materials  almost  exclusively  the  raw  products  of  these  two  main- 
stays of  the  district  prosperity. 

Mining  Industry.  Within  the  boundaries  of  the  disti'ict  hardly  any 
minerals  are  worked.  Of  mining  concerns,  coal  mines  deserve  mention. 
These  are  the  coal  mines  near  the  town  of  Cheliabinsk,  the  Anjer  coal  mines 
near  the  northwestern  boundaiy  of  the  district,  close  to  the  railway,  be- 
longing to  the  Government,  and  the  Soujen  coal  mines  (pi'ivate)  which 
supply  coal  to  the  railroad. 

Coal  mines  are  being  worked  in  the  district  of  Kouznetzk,  between  the 
upper  flows  of  the  river  Ina  and  Tom,  near  the  village  of  Kolchougino, 
which  is  connected  with  the  Tomsk  railroad  by  a  branch  line  running 
from  the  station  lurga. 

Silver,  copper,  lead  and  precious  jasper  mining,  which  at  one  lime  throve 
in  the  Altai,  has  now  almost  ceased  since  the  abolition  of  serfdom,  as  the 
once  miners  reverted  to  the  more  customary  work  of  agriculture. 

Manufacturing  Industry.  Of  industries  connected  with  husbandry,  the 
most  developed  are  milling,  distilling,  brewing  and  butter-making  The 
least  developed  are  leather  making  and  tanning  of  wooled  sheep  skins, 

46 


AND  OTHER  CO-OPERATIVE   ASSOCIATIONS 

telting  foot  wear  and  pressing  oil  of  hemp  seed,  linseed  and  garden  cress 
seed  (Camelina  Sativa). 

Domestic  Industries.  Tanning,  oil  pressing,  preparation  of  vooled 
sheep  skins  and  felting  foot  wear  as  domestic  industries  are  popular  in  the 
region  inhabited  by  the  Russians.  An  artisan  who  has  a  small  workshop, 
genei-ally  of  a  most  primitive  construction,  usually  executes  orders  for  the 
neighbouring  peasants.  Only  in  two  places,  in  the  town  of  Barnaul  and  the 
village  of  Shatrovskoe,  the  district  of  Yalutorovsk,  has  the  preparation  of 
black  sheep  furs  and  fur  coat  making  become  an  industry  on  a  larger  scale. 
The  same  can  be  said  of  felting  foot  wear,  which  is  carried  on  in  the  town 
of  Barnaul  and  near  the  town  of  Kourgan.  Oil  pressing  has  somewhat  de- 
veloped near  the  latter  town  with  the  aid  of  hydraulic  presses. 

All  these  industries  are  worked  for  the  needs  of  the  nearest  local 
markets  and  it  is  impossible  to  ascertain  the  exact  volume  of  their  pro- 
duction. 

Flour  milling,  distilling,  and  brewing  are  industries  on  a  larger  scale. 

Milling  Industry.  According  to  the  development  of  the  flour  milling 
industry  in  the  district,  the  list  is  headed  by  the  town  of  Omsk,  followed 
by  the  towns  of  Novo  Nikolaievsk  and  Tomsk.  The  last  named,  though 
situated  outside  the  district,  grinds  grain  contributed  by  the  district. 

The  secondary  centres  of  the  flour  milling  industry  are,  in  the  Obi 
region,  the  towns  of  Barnaul,  Biisk,  Kamen  and  in  the  basin  of  the  Irtysh, 
— Semipalatinsk,  Pavlodar,  Kourgan  and  Yalutorovsk. 

Previous  to  the  war  the  annual  output  of  the  flour  mills  in  the  Obi 
region  was  calculated  at  15.8  million  poods,  or  5.1  million  cwts.,  and  that 
of  the  Irtysh  region  at  8.9  million  poods,  or  2.9  million  cwts.  The  flour 
mills  worked  not  only  for  local  markets,  but  also  for  exportation;  up  to 
75%  of  flour  produced  in  Novo  Nikolaievsk  was  exported  to  western  Siberia, 
while  about  50%  of  the  flour  produced  in  Omsk  went  to  European  Russia, 
mainly  in  the  Urals  region. 

Distilling  and  Brewing.  In  1910-1911  there  were  28  distilleries  in  the 
district,  with  a  total  output  of  3,000,000  vedros,  or  8,115,000  gallons  of 
alcohol  40°  strong.  At  the  same  time  there  were  40  breweries  in  the  dis- 
trict, with  a  total  output  of  1,450,000  vedros,  or  3,922,250  gallons. 

Textile  industry  is  not  worked  on  a  large  scale  and  the  peasants  make 
fabrics  by  hand  of  hemp,  flax  and  wool  for  household  use. 

Butter-making.  The  most  conspicuous  branch  of  the  manufacture  of 
raw  products  of  agriculture,  which  gives  considerable  profits  to  the  peas- 
antry and  occupies  a  prominent  place  in  exports  abroad  is  butter-making — 
the  trade  of  the  district. 

47 


THE   UNION   OF   THE    SIBERIAN   CREAMERY 


Manufacture  of  Melted  Butter  Previous  to  the  Construction  of  the  Siber- 
ian Railway.  Manufacture  of  butter  for  sale  has  long  since  been  a  fairly 
conspicuous  trade  of  the  peasantry  in  the  district.  Owing  to  the  absence 
of  convenient  ways  of  communication  and  the  great  distances  which  ren- 
dered transportation  of  perishable  goods  impossible,  only  melted  butter  was 
manufactured,  by  means  of  liberating  water  and  albuminous  matters  by 
heating.  This  butter  keeps  fresh,  even  in  summer  time,  for  a  much  longer 
period  than  that  made  in  the  ordinary  way.  It  is  used  only  for  cooking 
purposes. 

This  butter  was  made  by  souring  milk  in  earthenware  vessels — 
"krynki,"  separating  the  "smetana"  or  thickened  cream  and  converting  the 
cream  into  butter  by  prolonged  stirring  with  a  churn  staff — "moutovka." 
The  butter  was  then  put  into  a  moderately  warm  oven  and  when  melted 
was  poured  off  from  the  water  and  other  occasional  foreign  matter  at  the 
bottom  of  the  vessel. 

Cylinders  of  frozen  butter — "chalpany"  as  the  Siberians  call  them — 
could  be  seen  at  every  village  market  and  fair,  and  jokingly  the  peasants 
of  the  Government  of  Tomsk  are  often  called  "chalpany."  At  that  time 
bread  and  meat  were  extremely  cheap  and  the  peasants  could  obtain  money 
only  by  selling  butter,  but  the  trade  was  not  remunerative.  From  30  poods 
of  milk  hardly  one  pood  of  melted  butter  could  be  obtained,  the  price  of 
which  was  4  to  6  roubles  per  pood,  or  $6.30  to  $9.15  per  cwt. 

Butter-making  as  described  above  required  much  work  on  the  part  of 
the  housewife. 

Melted  butter  was  bought  from  peasants,  mainly  at  village  fairs  during 
the  autumn  and  winter,  gathered  into  large  lots,  melted  once  more  to  assure 
the  necessary  degree  of  purity  and  transported  by  horses  to  European 
Russia  and  was  shipped  to  Turkey  through  the  ports  of  the  Black  Sea. 

Melted  butter,  prepared  in  the  Government  of  Tobolsk,  where  the  popu- 
lation is  more  cultured  and  much  cleaner,  was  rated  as  first  class.  Barnaul 
butter,  from  the  present  Government  of  Altai,  was  rated  second  class.  The 
butter  made  by  Kirghyz,  from  the  Governments  of  Akmolinsk  and  Semipal- 
atinsk,  was  rated  third  class. 

An  approximate  estimate  shows  that  the  annual  export  of  melted  butter 
from  Western  Siberia  was  not  more  than  350,000  poods,  or  112,700  cwts., 
for  not  more  than  2,000,000  to  2,500,000  roubles,  or  $1,000,000  to 
$1,250,000.  Cream  butter  was  in  use  only  in  towns  where  it  was  made  at 
home  by  churning  cream  in  bottles.  The  mechanical  method  of  separating 
cream,  as  well  as  the  word  "separator,"  were  unknown. 

First  Experiments  in  Making  Cream  Butter.  Only  in  recent  years,  be- 
fore the  construction  of  the  Siberian  railway,  a  butter  factory  was  organ- 
ized on  the  private  farm  of  Mr.  Pamfilof,  and  a  separator  was  installed. 
However,  this  butter  factory  made  a  very  small  quantity  of  butter,  as  only 

48 


AND  OTHER  CO-OPERATIVE   ASSOCIATIONS 


the  milk  from  the  owner's  cows  was  used,  and  was  disposed  of  entirely  in 
Tinmen. 

The  beginning  of  the  Siberian  butter-making  industry  corresponds  with 
the  commencement  of  the  construction  of  the  Great  Siberian  railway. 

Butter-making  and  the  Railway.  In  1893  the  railvi'ay  reached  the  town 
of  Kourgan  and  in  1894  the  first  butter  factory  was  organized  in  the  village 
of  Utiatzkoe,  40  versts,  or  26  miles  from  the  town  of  Kourgan,  by  a  Moscow 
merchant,  Mr.  Volkoff.  Since  then  the  butter-making  has  been  advancing 
by  gigantic  strides.  In  1899  there  was  exported  from  Siberia  132,000 
poods,  or  about  44.000  cwts.  of  butter,  and  in  1913,  4,058,650  poods,  or 
1,309,000  cwts. 

Siberian  Butter.  The  increase  in  the  export  of  Siberian  butter  was 
greatly  assisted  by  its  quality,  mainly  its  keeping  quality. 

The  numerous  analyses  made  in  laboratories  of  the  States  of  Western 
Europe  show  that  the  average  composition  of  European  butter,  according 
to  Professor  Konih,  is  as  follows : 

water  fat  salt  curd 


13.45%  83.70%  1.59%  1.26 


% 


The  composition  of  salted  American  butter  (Thomson,  S.  C,  Shaw, 
R.  H.  &  Norton,  R.  P. — The  normal  composition  of  American  Creamery 
Butter,  U.  S.  Dept.  of  Agriculture.    B.  A.  I.  Bui.  149),  is  as  follows: 

water  fat  salt  curd 

13.90%  82.41%  2.51%  1.18% 

The  investigations  of  the  Siberian  Government  laboratories  (S.  Koch- 
ergin,  Analytical  Tables  of  the  physical-chemical  properties  and  composi- 
tions of  Siberian  butter  for  the  years  1896-1912)  show  that  the  average 
composition  of  Siberian  butter,  after  complete  analysis,  is  as  follows : 

water  fat  salt  curd 

11.58%  85.59%  1.71%  1.12% 

Comparing  these  thi'ee  tables,  one  can  see  that  Siberian  butter  contains 
1.87%  less  water  and  1.89%  more  fat  than  European  butter. 

The  small  amount  of  water,  in  comparison  with  European  and  American 
butter,  gave  Siberian  butter  the  name  of  "dry  butter."  This  dryness  is  its 
peculiar  feature,  while  it  also  contains  the  largest  percentage  of  fat,  which 
is  the  most  valuable  component  part  of  butter. 

Growth  of  Butter-Making.  Numerous  butter  factories  sprang  up  very 
quickly.  The  first  appeared  in  1894,  and  in  1902  there  were,  in  Siberia, 
2,135  butter  factories,  and  3,102  in  1911. 

Having  originated  in  the  southwestern  part  of  the  Government  of 
Tobolsk,  near  the  town  of  Kourgan,  the  butter-making  soon  spread  east- 

49 


THE   UNION  OF  THE   SIBERIAN   CREAMERY 


ward  to  the  Government  of  Tomsk  and  the  Province  of  Akmolinsk.  The 
first  butter  factory  in  the  Government  of  Tomsk  appeared  in  1896,  but  in 
1902  two  thirds  of  the  total  number  of  butter  factories  in  Siberia  were  in 
the  Government  of  Tomsk. 

Organizafion  of  Butter  Making  by  Private  Persons.  The  manufacture 
and  exportation  of  Siberian  butter  were  at  first  entii-ely  in  private  hands. 
Buyers  and  exporters  of  butter,  mostly  Dutch,  opened  offices  in  towns  and 
supplied  with  equipment,  on  credit,  anybody  who  desired  to  organize  a 
butter  factory.  They  even  loaned  money  against  an  undertaking  to  deliver 
butter  to  them  and  repay  the  loan  by  deducting  from  the  prices  of  the 
delivered  butter. 

These  people  also  recommended  master  butter  makers,  who  were  most- 
ly natives  of  the  Baltic  provinces,  where  the  butter-making  industry  was 
already  well  developed. 

The  new  ti-ade  proved  remunerative:  milk  was  priced  much  higher  than 
in  the  epoch  of  melted  butter  making,  while  the  work  of  the  housewife  was 
confined  to  milking  her  cows  and  taking  the  milk  to  the  factory.  The  an- 
nual profit  from  a  cow  rose  from  5  to  6  roubles  to  15  to  20  roubles. 

Faults  of  the  New  Business.  This  business  attracted  many  rich  peas- 
ants and  small  merchants,  who  vied  with  each  other  in  starting  new  butter 
factories.  The  main  object  was  to  purchase  milk  as  cheaply  as  possible. 
To  reduce  the  competition,  the  owners  of  butter  factories  often  made  agree- 
ments among  themselves  as  to  the  prices  and  divided  the  country  in  sec- 
tions. To  make  the  purchase  of  butter  still  more  profitable  for  themselves, 
they  opened  small  stores  and  paid  for  butter  in  goods. 

Previous  to  the  year  1899  butter  was  transported  by  railroad  in  ordinary 
cargo  cars  without  any  means  of  refrigeration.  Owing  to  this,  in  the 
summer  time  when  the  exportation  was  at  its  highest,  butter  suffered  great 
damage  before  reaching  the  market.  The  buyers-exporters  did  not  attach 
any  importance  to  this  fact,  and  took  no  trouble  to  improve  it. 

The  buyers  of  butter  in  their  relations  with  the  owners  of  butter  fac- 
tories, and  particularly  the  owners  of  butter  factories  in  their  relations 
with  the  peasants  who  delivered  milk,  employed  most  unscrupulous 
methods. 

The  result  was  the  production  of  bad,  low-priced  butter  and  the  lion's 
share  of  the  profits  was  taken,  not  by  the  producers  of  milk,  but  by  the 
middlemen. 

Production  and  disposing  of  butter  were  not  regulated  nor  organized, 
thereby  doing  injury  to  the  great  majority  of  producers  and  bringing 
profits  to  a  small  crowd  of  butter  factory  owners  and  exporters. 

The  business  bore  all  features  of  a  dishonest  exploitation  by  clever  and 
unscrupulous  dealers  of  the  peasants'  credulity  and  ignorance. 

50 


AND  OTHER  CO-OPERATIVE   ASSOCIATIONS 


Government's  Attitude  Towards  Butter-Making.  In  1905  the  Govern- 
ment, in  the  effort  to  develop  and  organize  the  new  branch  of  the  people's 
activity,  so  beneficial  to  the  State,  sent  a  number  of  specialists  and  in- 
structors in  dairying  to  Western  Siberia,  who  were  under  the  Government's 
agronoms — Mr.  N.  Skalozubof  in  Tobolsk  and  Mr.  Jos.  Okulitch  in  Tomsk. 


ii£ 

ll 

.i  1.  • 

M 

hHwl   \  'iS  1 

IM^Il 

Sj=3 

.  .      -    „ 

W^fW^ ' '   n^ 

*^ 

iiiH 

Central    Dairying    Laboratory    in    Tomsk 

Later  on,  to  study  and  control  the  production  of  butter  and  to  supply  arti- 
ficial ferments  to  various  parts  of  Western  Siberia,  there  were  organized  in 
many  places  special  dairying  laboratories,  headed  by  the  Central  Dairying 
Laboi-atory  in  Tomsk  under  the  management  of  an  agriculturist,  Mr.  C. 
Kochergin,  who  has  since  been  a  member  of  the  Board  of  Directors  of  the 
Union  of  the  Siberian  Creamery  Associations. 

However,  it  must  be  stated  that  in  Perograd  many  influential  people 
in  administrative  circles  did  not  approve  of  the  new  industry,  regarding  the 
butter-making  by  the  Siberian  peasantry  as  a  rival  to  the  butter-making 
by  the  landlords  of  European  Russia. 

This  is  one  of  the  reasons  why  the  local  activities  of  the  Government 
agents  were  not  put  on  a  proper  footing.  There  were  founded  some  co- 
operative butter  factories,  but  the  increase  of  their  number  was  arrested 
by  the  persistent  and  active  opposition  of  private  interests.  In  1902,  of 
all  the  butter  factories  in  the  Government  of  Tobolsk,  95%  were  privately 
owned,  3%  belonged  to  communities  and  2%  to  the  co-operative  associa- 
tions. The  first  hundred  refrigerator  cars  for  transportation  of  butter 
were  obtained  as  late  as  1899. 


A.  N.  Balakshin.  Such  was  the  state  of  the  business  when  Mr.  A.  N. 
Balakshin  took  part  in  organizing  it. 

Mr.  Alexander  Nikolaievich  Balakshin,  the  founder  of  the  Union  of  the 
Siberian  Creamery  Associations,  has  been  one  of  the  most  conspicuous 

51 


THE   UNION   OF   THE    SIBERIAN   CREAMERY 


and  respected  public  men  in  Siberia  and  one  of  the  most  active  organizers 
of  the  co-operative  movement  in  Russia. 

His  father  was  a  flour  miller  and  merchant  in  the  town  of  Yalutorovsk 
and  a  descendant  of  the  old-timers,  the  peasants  of  the  district  of  Tobolsk, 
who  were  the  first  colonists  of  the  country,  which  was  conquered  by  the 
cossack  chief — Ataman  Ermak. 


A.  N.  Balakshin,  Founder  of  the  Union 

Mr.  Balakshin  in  his  young  years  was  under  the  beneficial  and  enlight- 
ening influence  of  the  "Dekabrists"  (Decemberists),  who  resided  in  Yalu- 
torovsk, having  been  exiled  to  Siberia  for  the  attempt  at  revolution  in 
December,  1825.  They  were  the  best  educated  and  most  humane  people 
of  the  then  Russia,  and  wherever  they  lived  they  left  behind  the  trace  of 
their  noble  influence. 

Mr.  Balakshin's  father  was  on  good  terms  with  the  "Dekabrists,"  and 
under  their  influence  educated  his  son  at  the  University,  which  in  those 
times  was  an  extremely  rare  occurrence  in  the  merchants  circles. 

After  his  graduation  Balakshin,  junior,  did  not  follow  the  usual  path 
of  the  Russian  University  man  and  did  not  enter  the  Government  service. 
He  decided  to  be  productive  and  independent  in  his  work.     After  several 

52 


AND  OTHER  CO-OPERATIVE   ASSOCIATIONS 


unsuccessful  attempts  he  at  last  organized  a  potato-trickle  works  near  the 
town  of  Kourgan,  which,  under  his  good  management,  enabled  him  to  lead 
a  modest  life. 

Being  in  constant  touch  with  the  common  people,  Mr.  Balak.'^hin  learned 
thoroughly  their  life  and  needs,  and  won  general  respect  for  his  open 
character  and  readiness  to  help. 

The  appearance  of  a  new  trade,  which  promised  to  be  profitable  for  the 
peasantry,  could  not  fail  to  attract  the  attention  of  such  a  responsive  per- 
son as  Mr.  Balakshin,  whose  character  so  happily  united  the  idealists  aspi- 
rations with  sober  understanding  of  the  real  and  the  capacity  to  carry  to 
the  end  any  task  undertaken. 

After  studying  the  new  trade  and  learning  the  practical  part.  Mr. 
Balakshin  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that,  in  order  to  safeguai'd  the  milk 
producers  against  unscrupulous  exploitation  by  the  private  owners  of  but- 
ter factories,  it  was  necessary  first  to  organize  the  business  on  co-operative 
principles,  and  second,  to  remove  from  connection  with  the  selling  of 
butter  the  unnecessary  middlemen,  represented  by  the  buyers-exporters, 
and,  third,  to  bring  the  consumer  closer  to  the  producer  by  organizing 
co-operative  disposal  of  butter  abroad. 

The  Attempt  to  Eliminate  Foreign  Exporters.  The  first  attempt  to 
organize  the  sale  of  butter  abroad  was  made  in  1901. 

The  Moscow  Agricultural  Society,  the  Kourgan  section  of  whic}'.  Mr. 
Ba'akshin  v/as  the  chairman,  founded  an  agricultural  association  which 
was  joined  by  five  butter-making  associations  and  by  some  private  butter 
factories  with  a  total  output  of  butter  of  about  77,000  poods  (about  25,000 
cwts).    But  this  association  very  soon  ceased  to  exist. 

In  the  same  year,  Mr.  Balakshin  read  a  report  about  the  necessity  of 
organizing  the  making  of  butter  on  co-operative  principles,  at  the  Congress 
of  butter  makers,  held  in  Kourgan.  This  report  was  energetically  sup- 
ported by  the  Government  Agronomist,  Mr.  Joseph  Okulitch.  (now  the 
general  manager  of  the  Union  of  the  Siberian  Creamery  Associations  for 
abroad)  who  pointed  out  to  the  Congress  the  necessity  of  establishing  a 
direct  connection  between  the  co-operative  organizations  of  Siberia  and 
the  consumers'  organizations  in  England. 

Special  Organization  to  Introduce  the  Co-operative  Principles  in  the  But- 
ter-Making Trade.  Having  thus  prepared  the  ground  in  Siberia,  Mr.  Balak- 
shin came  to  Petrograd  in  1902  to  secure  the  assistance  of  the  Government 
for  the  proposed  undertaking — the  organization,  of  co-operative  butter- 
making. 

He  was  fortunate  enough  to  enroll  the  interest  in  the  venture  of  the 
noted  statesman  of  the  period,  A.  S.  Yermoloff,  the  Minister  of  Agricul- 
ture, with  his  profound  knowledge  of  agi-iculture,  and  the  well  known 
count  S.  J.  Witte,  the  Minster  of  Finances. 

53 


THE   UNION  OF  THE   SIBERIAN   CREAMERY 


Mr.  Balakshin  presented  to  them  his  scheme  to  organize  the  butter 
factories  on  the  co-operative  basis.  He  offered  to  head  the  special  organi- 
zation and  requested  only  7000  roubles  to  cover  e.xpenses  and  remuneration 
of  the  agents. 

His  scheme  was  approved,  the  money  forthcoming  and  credit  was 
opened  to  advance  money  for  construction  and  equipment  of  the  new  co- 
operative butter  factories.  In  the  summer  of  1902  the  new  organization 
commenced  its  activities. 

The  activity  of  the  new  organization  embraced:  a)  investigation  of 
the  existing  butter-making  industry  both  in  the  producing  and  .selling 
branches,  b)  composition  of  .schemes  and  estimates  of  butter  factories 
for  various  amounts  of  milk,  c)  energetic  propaganda  of  the  idea  of  co- 
operative butter  factories  by  means  of  oral  consultations  with  the  peasants 
at  their  villages,  d)  finding  and  recommending  of  experienced  master  but- 
ter makers  for  the  new  co-operative  butter  factories,  e)  advancing  money 
up  to  3,000  roubles  ($1,500)  per  each  factory  from  the  money  granted  by 
the  Government,  for  the  erection  and  equipment  of  new  butter  factories, 
f)  Instruction  in  butter-making  and  bookkeeping  of  a  butter  factory. 

The  organization  had  its  seat  in  Kourgan,  the  cradle  of  Siberian  butter- 
making,  but  its  influence  spread  over  the  whole  present  district  of  the 
Siberian  butter-making  industry. 

Results  of  the  Organization's  Work.  The  success  of  the  work  of  the 
organization  was  extraoi'dinary.  With  meagre  financial  means,  the  or- 
ganization, thanks  to  the  exceptional  energy  of  its  leaders,  combined  with 
profound  knowledge  of  the  population  and  the  ability  to  choose  the  most 
suitable  people,  during  the  five  years  of  its  existence  opened  273  co- 
operative butter  factories  with  a  membership  of  52,000  heads  of  households. 
The  output  of  butter  from  the  butter  factories  united  by  the  organi- 
zation during  the  last  year  of  the  organization's  existence  i-eached  428,000 
poods  or  138,000  cwi;s,  valued  at  more  than  5.000,000  roubles. 

The  activity  of  the  organization  was  an  object  lesson  for  the  popula- 
tion in  the  remunerativeness  of  co-operative  butter-making,  and  in  that 
respect  the  work  of  the  organization  was  eminently  successful,  resulting 
in  a  rush  of  peasantry  to  organize  co-operative  butter  factories.  Their 
number  grew  quickly  and  in  1911,  of  all  butter  factories  in  Western  Sibei*ia, 
66%  were  co-operative  and  only  34' i  were  private  concerns. 

In  1917,  out  of  the  total  2,466,164  poods  of  butter  produced  in  Siberia 
and  delivered  to  the  Russian  Government,  the  .share  of  private  butter 
factories  was  only  483,485  poods,  or  less  than  one-fifth  of  the  total. 

Unionization  of  Co-operative  Butter  Factories.  However,  the  conver- 
sion of  private  concerns  into  co-operative  factories  was  only  half  of  the 
reorganization.  One  useless  middleman,  the  owner  of  a  private  butter 
factory,  was  removed  from  the  trade,  but  the  export  and  sals  of  butter 

54 


AND  OTHER  CO-OPERATIVE   ASSOCIATIONS 


still  remained  in  the  hands  of  middlemen— private  enterprising  persons, 
exporters,  mostly  foreigners.  These  agents  of  big  foreign  butter  trading 
houses  were  concerned  only  with  buying  as  much  butter  as  possible  as 
cheaply  as  possible.  They  did  not  care  about  the  quality  of  the  butter,  as 
butter  of  any  kind  could  be  sold  abroad  at  a  price  corresponding  to  the 
quality. 

It  is  necessary  to  state  that  the  exporters,  armed  with  all  means  of 
European  commercial  technic,  large  capital,  having  the  closest  connections 
with  the  European  market  and  acting  in  concert  in  maintaining  low  prices 
for  butter,  were  a  very  large  force,  the  struggle  with  whom  was  very  dif- 
ficult. They  stood  like  a  wall  between  the  Russian  producer  and  the  foreign 
consumer  and  effectively  resisted  all  attempts  to  establish  direct  connection 
between  the  two. 

The  only  means  of  liberating  the  Siberian  butter-making  industry  from 
the  power  of  the  exporting  houses  and  in  this  way  improve  the  quality 
of  the  product  and  the  remunerativeness  of  the  trade,  was  the  foundation 
of  a  powerful  organization  uniting  co-operative  associations,  which  would 
be  able  to  successfully  compete  with  the  foreign  exporters. 

Mr.  Balakshin  decided  to  organize  the  butter-making  associations  into 
a  Union. 

Founders  First  Meeting.  The  first  meeting  of  the  founders  of  the 
Union  was  held  in  Kourgan,  November  10th,  1907.  There  were  present  at 
this  meeting  the  representatives  of  twelve  co-operative  associations,  which 
formed  the  Union  and  began  their  activities  in  the  following  year — 1908. 

Aims  of  the  Union.  Besides  the  twelve  co-operative  butter-making 
associations,  a  co-operative  store  of  one  of  the  factories  joined  the  Union 
and  in  this  way  the  Union,  from  the  very  outset  became  not  only  a  Union 
of  co-operative  associations  of  producers  but  also  a  co-operative  associa- 
tion of  consumers.  The  Union  still  preserves  these  features,  catering  for 
the  two  most  important  needs  of  the  rural  population:  disposing  of  the 
most  valuable  product  of  agriculture,  namely  butter,  and  supplying  the 
goods  that  are  most  needed. 

Among  other  things  the  Union  aimed  at  providing  for  the  butter-mak- 
ing associations  various  goods  and  stores,  necessary  for  the  trade,  such  as 
barrels,  parchment  paper,  salt,  matting  for  packing,  lubricants  for  separa- 
torSj  etc.,  and  also  manufacturing  raw  products  of  agriculture  and  furnish- 
ing goods  necessary  for  the  peasantry. 

Peculiarities  of  the  Union's  Charter.  When  drafting  the  Union's  Char- 
ter, which  was  approved  by  the  Government,  a  special  effort  was  made  to 
impai't  a  particular  stability,  permanency  and  credit  to  the  Union.  For 
these  reasons  it  was  made  obligatory,  under  penalty  of  a  fine,  for  unionized 
associations  to  conduct  their  business,  so  far  as  the  sale  of  the  products  of 

55 


THE   UNION   OF  THE   SIBERIAN   CREAMERY 


agriculture  and  of  local  trades  and  the  purchase  of  manufactured  goods 
and  machinery  were  concerned,  exclusively  through  the  Union. 

For  the  same  reason  each  association  was  made  liable  in  respect  to 
all  obligations  to  the  extent  of  50  copeks  (25  cents)  per  each  pood  of  butter 
delivered  to  the  Union  by  the  association  during  the  previous  year. 

The  two  above  mentioned  peculiarities  put  the  Union  at  once  among 
the  stable  and  financially  reliable  organizations. 

As  one  can  conclude  from  the  description  given  of  the  Union's  aims, 
the  Union  endeavors  to  satisfy  the  most  important  needs  of  the  population 
of  Western  Siberia.  One  of  the  most  pressing  of  these  was  the  organiza- 
tion of  butter  selling — the  chief  source  of  the  peasants  income.  Another 
was  the  necessity  of  providing  the  peasants  with  various  goods,  as 
obtaining  goods  through  the  rural  storekeepers  and  the  owners  of  private 
butter  factories  was  extremely  unprofitable  for  the  people. 

How  far  the  Union  attained  its  object  and  how  much  the  population  ap- 
preciated its  activity  can  be  seen  from  the  figures  showing  the  gradual 
growth  of  the  number  of  the  unionized  co-operative  associations,  the 
amount  of  butter  collected  by  the  Union,  and  the  extent  of  their  operations 
in  goods. 

Speedy  Growth  of  the  Union.  Commencing  with  the  second  year  of  the 
Union's  existence,  the  number  of  co-operative  creameries  and  shops, 
members  of  the  Union,  begun  to  grow  quickly  and  steadily,  and  there  has 
been  no  falling  off  since,  nor  any  decrease  in  the  annual  number  of  new 
co-operative  associations  which  joined  the  Union.  The  number  of  co-opera- 
tive associations  and  shops  in  the  Union  for  each  year  is  shown  in  diagrams 
Nos.  1  and  2. 


1909     1909     1910 


1911  1912 

Diagram    No. 


1913  1914-  1915  l9lo  1917 

Growth    of    Crcameo'    Associations    in    the    I'nion 


J9I8 


Increasing  Number  of  Co-operative  Association.s    in    the   Union.     The 

number  of  the  co-operative  associations  in  the  Union  has  been  continually 
growing,  and  reaches  at  present  4357.  At  the  most  conservative  estimate, 
assuming  that  each  co-operative  association  comprises  only  150  heads  of 
households,  the  Union  comprises  in  all  its  associations  not  less  than 
650,000  heads  of  households,  or  about  3,500,000  souls,  which  is  more  than 
42%  of  the  district  of  the  Siberian  butter-making  industry. 

56 


AND  OTHER  CO-OPERATIVE   ASSOCIATIONS 


These  figures  bear  eloquent  testimony  to  the  fact  that  the  Union  really 
caters  to  the  important  needs  of  the  country,  and  that  the  people  highly 
appreciate  the  Union's  work. 


2.088 


1908         1909        1910         1911         1912  1913  191*  1915      ^  1916  1917  1918 

Diagram  No.  2.     Growth  of  Distributing  Stores  of  the  Union 

Increase  in  the  Number  of  Branches.  At  the  beginning  the  office  of 
the  Union's  board  in  Kourgan  was  the  only  point  where  the  butter  and 
othor  products  were  collected  and  from  which  goods  were  distributed. 
This  soon  proved  insufficient,  as  co-operative  associations  and  shops  from 
remote  districts  joined  the  Union  and  it  was  very  inconvenient  for  these 
new  members  to  deliver  butter  and  obtain  goods  in  Kourgan.  This 
prompted  the  Union  to  establish  branches  and  offices,  at  first  in  the  neigh- 
boring towns  and  later  in  remote  cities  all  over  Western  Siberia. 

The  gradual  growth  of  the  number  of  the  Union's  branches  is  shown 
in  the  following  table: 


Years    1908  1909  1910  1911  1912 

1913 

1914 

1915 

1916 

1917 

1918 

Number  of 

Offices     2    3    5    5    7 

11 

16 

16 

17 

22 

25 

Not  one  of  the  offices  opened  during  the  11  years,  has  been  closed  or 
transferred,  which  shows  the  stability  of  the  Union's  business. 

At  present  the  Union  of  the  Siberian  Creamery  Associations  has  its 
offices  at  the  following  points:  Troitzk,  Cheliabinsk,  Yalutorovsk,  Ishim, 
Kourgan,  Petropavlosk,  Tiukalinsk,  Tara,  Nazyvaievsk,  Omsk,  Tatarsk, 
Chany,  Koupino,  Slavgorod,  Kainsk,  Novo-Nikolaievsk,  Kamen,  Barnaul, 
Biisk,  Ust-Kamennogorsk,  Roubtzovka,  Semipalatinsk,  Ust-Charysh  and 
Kalachinsk.  The  Union  also  has  agencies  in  the  villages  of  Aleiskoe, 
Omoutinskoe,  Choulyma,  Cherepanovo,  Shelabolikha,  Sorokino,  Mishkino, 
Makushino  and  in  the  town  of  Koustanai. 

The  Union's  associations,  branches,  stores,  and  offices  are  spread  over 

57 


THE   UNION   OP  THE   SIBERIAN   CREAMERY 


the  great  expanse  of  the  above  described  district  of  the  Siberian  butter- 
making  industry. 

The  Wholesale  Stores.  To  all  offices  of  the  Union  are  attached  whole- 
sale stores,  which  supply  goods  to  those  shops  that  ai'e  members  of  the 
Union.  The  position  of  offices  in  the  territory  of  the  Union  is  shown  on 
the  attached  map. 

About  91/2  million  poods  of  butter  was  handled  by  the  Union  during 
its  existence,  out  of  a  total  of  36,000,000  poods  exported  from  Siberia  for 
the  same  time. 

Amount  of  Butter  Received  by  the  Union.  In  spite  of  all  difficulties 
connected  with  the  struggle  with  the  foreign  exporters,  the  Union  gradually 
increased  not  only  the  absolute  quantities  of  the  butter  received  and  ex- 
ported by  the  Union,  but  also  the  proportionate  relation'  to  the  total  export 
of  butter  from  Siberia,  as  shown  by  the  following  table : 


Years  1908  1909  1910  1911  1912  1913  1914  1915  1916  1917 

Export  of  but- 
ter from  Siberia 
in  thousands 
of  poods  2840  2980  3195  3848  4047  4442  3285  4612  3174  3521 

Amoupt  of  but- 
ter that  passed 
through  the 
Union  in  thou- 
sands of  poods  130     190     270     280     480     630     678  1303  2942  2514 

Proportion  of 
butter  that 
passed  through 

the  Union  to  • 

the  total  ex- 
port of  butter 
from  Siberia 
(Percentage)  5      6.3        S.4         7.5      11.8    14.2   20.6   28.2   97.7   71.4 


One  can  see  from  the  above  table  that  as  early  as  1915  more  than  28% 
of  the  total  Siberian  butter  was  passing  through  the  Union  while  in  1916 
and  1917  this  percentage  reached  97.7%  and  71.4%.  In  these  years  almost 
all  butter  produced  in  Siberia  was  taken  over  by  the  Government  through 

58 


AND  OTHER  CO-OPERATIVE   ASSOCIATIONS 


the  offices  and  stations  of  the  Union.    The  gradual  increase  in  the  amount 
of  butter  received  by  the  Union  can  be  seen  from  diagram  No.  3. 


2.942.308 


1508     1909      1910       1911         1912         1913  191+  1915  1916  1917 

Diagram   No.   3.     Receipts  of   Butter   in   poods    (1    pood   equals   36   lbs.) 


1918 


The  value  of  butter  received  by  the  Union  increased  year  by  year  as  is 
shown  by  the  following  table: 


Years 


1908  1909  1910  1911  1912  1913  1914    1915     1916       1917 


Value  in  thou- 
sand roubles     1800  2416  3581  3795  6064  7405  7851  16349  58349  123163 


It  can  be  seen  from  the  above  table  that  the  operations  of  the  Union 
in  butter,  commencing  at  the  small  sum  of  Rbls.  1,800,000  in  1908,  reached 
the  sum  of  Rbls.  123,163,000  in  1917. 

Sale  of  Butter  Abroad.  The  Union  found  it  very  difficult  to  attain  its 
chief  object — that  of  selling  butter  to  foreign  markets  with  as  few  middle- 
men as  possible — but  at  length  this  problem  was  solved  successfully. 

In  the  first  year  of  its  activity,  in  order  to  sell  butter  to  the  leading 
butter  market — England — the  Union  of  the  Siberian  Creamery  Associa- 
tions made  an  agreement  with  Messrs.  W.  and  R.,  who  undertook  to  buy 
the  Union's  butter  at  Siberian  prices  with  the  addition  of  the  cost  of  its 
delivery  to  London. 

In  1909  the  business  of  Messrs.  W.  &  R.  was  taken  over  by  Messrs. 
L.  &  Co.  who  at  first  purchased  butter  from  the  Union  on  the  same  terms. 

Later  the  Union  delivered  butter  to  Messrs.  L.  &  Co.  to  be  sold  on  com- 
mission on  the  terms  of  equal  sharing  of  profit  and  loss. 

The  Union  contributed  toward  the  maintenance  of  the  office  2.5% 
of  the  value  of  butter  delivered  and  had  the  right  to  control  the  sale  of 
butter  in  England.  It  was  also  entitled  to  a  commission  with  regard  to 
butter  received  for  sale  from  co-operative  associations  non-members  of 
the  Union. 

In  1910  the  Union  opened  an  office  in  Berlin  for  the  sale  of  butter  in 

59 


THE   UNION   OF  THE   SIBERIAN   CREAMERY 


Germany,  but  owing  to  unfavorable  market  conditions,  this  office  was  soon 
closed. 

In  1912  the  Union  and  Messrs.  L.  &  Co.  together,  founded  a  company 
in  London  with  limited  liability,  which  was  known  as  "The  Union." 

The  capital  of  this  company  consisted  of  common  and  preferred  stock. 

The  Union  in  Siberia  undertook  to  sell  all  butter  in  Europe,  with  the 
exception  of  Russia,  only  through  "The  Union"  in  London.  Messrs  L.  & 
Co.  put  their  warehouses  and  staff  at  the  disposal  of  the  new  company  for 
a  remuneration  of  72  copeks  per  barrel  and  discontinued  their  own  busi- 
ness in  Siberian  butter  in  England. 

The  co-operative  butter  factories,  delivering  butter  to  the  Union's 
offices,  re-^'eived  OO*;;  of  its  value  and  the  balance  one  and  a  half  to  two 
months  later. 

The  business  with  "The  Union"  continued  only  for  a  short  time — the 
season  of  1913  and  part  of  the  year  1914 — as  the  war  made  the  regular 
delivery  of  butter  to  England  an  impossibility. 

Previously  butter  had  been  carried  by  railway  to  Baltic  ports  in 
refrigerator-cars,  which  could  be  re-iced  on  the  way  and  thus  preserve 
butter  during  the  summer.  After  the  commencement  of  hostilities  this 
perishable  product  had  to  be  taken  in  ordinary  cars  by  rail  to  Kotlass, 
there  to  be  transferred  from  railway  cars  to  river  steamers  and  again 
transshiped  from  river  steamers  to  sea-going  steamers  in  Archangel. 

Owing  to  the  impossibility  of  working  jointly,  both  parties  decided  to 
cancel  the  agreement  by  the  end  of  1916.  The  Union  carried  it  out  by  a 
resolution  passed  by  the  Board  in  December  1916,  and  Messrs.  L.  &  Co. 
by  a  letter  dated  December  28th,  1916.  The  general  meeting  of  representa- 
tives of  the  co-operative  associations  of  the  Union  held  in  March  1917,  con- 
firmed by  a  resolution,  the  cancellation  of  the  agreement. 

Sale  of  Butter  During  the  War.  When  the  war  began,  railway  tran.s- 
portation  of  any  goods,  except  military  stores,  almost  completely  stopped, 
and  this  provoked  an  acute  crisis  in  the  Siberian  butter-making  industry. 

The  receipts  of  butter  in  Siberia  almost  entirely  stopped,  prices  catas- 
trophically  dropped,  and  the  butter  factories  were  threatened  with  ruin. 

The  Board  of  the  Union  found  means  of  relieving  the  difficult  situa- 
tion, and  by  persistent  efforts  in  Petrograd  they  succeeded  in  getting  their 
butter  accepted  by  the  military  authorities  for  the  Russian  army — a  thing 
that  had  never  been  done  before,  as  cream  butter  was  not  included  'n  the 
bill  of  fare  of  the  Russian  soldier. 

When  the  Government  bought  butter  from  the  Union,  the  prices  began 
to  rise.  At  the  same  time,  in  spite  of  the  above  mentioned  difficulties,  the 
export  of  butter  abroad  still  continued.  However,  this  went  on  only  till 
October,  1915,  when  the  Government  became  the  Union's  only  customer. 
For  this  purpose  a  special  organization  was  formed  in  Omsk,  which  worked 

60 


AND  OTHER  CO-OPERATIVE   ASSOCIATIONS 


until  the  end  of  1918,  when  the  Government  monopoly  in  butter  was 
abolished. 

During  the  whole  period  of  the  Government  monopoly,  the  butter  was 
sold  at  fixed  prices. 

These  prices  more  than  once  were  raised  under  the  influence  of  a  general 
rise  in  prices,  due  to  the  war  and  also  to  the  catastrophical  fall  in  the  rate 
of  exchange  of  the  rouble,  which  was  the  result  of  the  financial  policy 
adopted  after  the  revolution  of  1917. 

However,  the  raising  of  prices  by  the  Government  was  always  behind 
the  pace  of  the  market  prices.  At  this  time  the  price  for  cream  butter 
was  so  low  that  in  some  places  it  was  profitable  to  use  butter  as  a  lubricant 
for  cart  wheels. 

The  abolition  of  the  Government  butter  monopoly,  which  was  persist- 
ently urged  by  the  Union  for  the  benefit  of  its  members,  the  butter  pro- 
ducing peasants,  resulted  in  a  further  rise  in  prices  which  harmonized 
with  the  prices  for  other  commodities. 

During  the  period  when  butter  was  taken  by  the  Government,  it  be- 
came evident  that  the  Union  not  only  protected  the  interests  of  the 
peasant  during  the  production  and  sale  of  butter,  but  also  facilitated  the 
improvement  in  the  quality. 

Butter  was  graded  into  three  sorts  by  the  Government.  It  was  found 
that  of  the  three  classes  of  butter  factories  namely,  1 — butter  factories 
owned  by  the  co-operative  organizations,  members  of  the  Union,  2 — those 
owned  by  the  co-operative  organizations,  non-members  of  the  UnioT'  and 
3 — those  owned  by  private  people,  the  highest  percentage  of  first  sort 
butter  was  supplied  by  butter  factories — members  of  the  Union  of  the 
Siberian  Creamery  Associations,  as  can  be  seen  from  the  following  table. 

BUTTER  DELIVERED  TO  THE  GOVERNMENT 


Co-operative  butter  factories 


Members  of  the  Union 


Non-members 


Privately  owned 
butter  factories 


Years        Quality  of  butter         Quality  of  butter 


Quality  of  butter 


1st 

2nd 

3rd 

1st 

2nd 

3rd 

1st 

2nd 

3rd 

1916 

64.6':/ 

23.8% 

11.6% 

58.5% 

28.3% 

13.2% 

31.2% 

30.6% 

27.6% 

1917 

77% 

18.2% 

4.8% 

74.6% 

204% 

5% 

68.1% 

21.4% 

10.5% 

1918 

77% 

18.7% 

4.3% 

78.8% 

17.1% 

4.1% 

49.7% 

22.7% 

.38.2% 

Stores  for  Butter-Making.  A  very  important  branch  of  the  Union's 
business  was  and  is  to  provide  butter  factories  with  necessary  supplies 
for  butter-making — barrels  or  staves,  salt,  matting,  etc. 

All  these  stores  were  and  are  supplied  by  the  Union  not  only  to  the 
co-operative  butter  factories  which  have  not  yet  become  members  of  the 

61 


THE   UNION   OF  THE   SIBERIAN   CREAMERY 


Union,  but  also  to  the  privately  owned  butter  factories.    The  value  of  the 
stores  sold  by  the  Union  for  each  year  is  shown  by  diagram  No.  4. 


4-,88+,806 


1508    1909 


Diagram  No.  4.     Sales  of  Supplies  in   roubles   (rouble  equals  52  cents) 


Stave-Making  Works.  When  import  of  beech  staves  from  abroad  neces- 
sary for  the  export  of  butter  to  foreign  markets  stopped,  and  the  beech 
stave  making  shops  in  Caucasus  closed,  the  Union  started  its  own  stave 
factory  near  Kourgan,  where  at  present  staves  of  birch  wood  are  manu- 
factured on  a  large  scale. 

When  it  became  impossible  to  obtain  salt  from  European  Russia,  salt 
being  essential  to  butter-making,  the  Union  took  steps  to  organize  its  own 
salterns  and  for  this  purpose  rented  salt  lakes  from  the  Government. 

Trading.  The  organization  of  the  sale  of  butter  and  the  general  im- 
provement in  the  butter-making  industry  was  not  sufficient  to  satisfy  the 
economical  needs  of  the  Siberian  rural  population;  to  supply  them  with 
divers  goods  was  equally  important. 

Here  we  have  the  reason  why,  from  the  beginning,  the  Union  was  com- 
posed of  butter  factories,  co-operative  shops  and  stores.  As  they  increased 
so  also  the  Union's  trade  in  goods  increased,  as  is  shown  by  the  diagram  5. 


114,100.780 


Diagram   No.    5.      Goods   Sold   by   the    Union    (in    roubles) 

The  development  of  the  Union's  operations  in  goods  was  at  its  height 
at  the  time  when  the  needs  of  the  population  were  felt  to  be  most  acute, 
owing  to  the  disorganization  of  trade  and  transport.    The  installing  on  a 

62 


AND  OTHER   CO-OPERATIVE   ASSOCIATIONS 


firm  foundation  of  this  branch  of  the  Union's  business  was  executed  by  the 
late  Mr.  Groudzinsky,  vice-president  of  the  Union's  Board,  who  died  quite 
recently. 

Diagram  No.  5  shows  that  in  1917,  when  the  famine  of  goods  was  most 
severe,  the  trading  operations  of  the  Union  were  almost  200  times  greater 
than  in  the  lirst  year  of  its  existence.  In  1918  the  total  trading  was  900 
times  more  than  in  the  first  year. 

To  purchase  goods,  the  Union  opened  at  various  times  purchasing  of- 
fices in  Moscow,  Samarkand,  Vladivostok,  Ekaterinburgh,  Samara  and 
Irkutsk.  Also  whenever  it  was  possible  to  buy  goods  first  hand,  the  Union 
sent  special  agents  on  this  mission. 

Total  Sales.  The  growth  of  the  general  business  of  the  Union  is  shown 
in  diagram  No.  6. 


1908  1909    1910        1911 


1913 


Diagram   No.   6.     Growth   of   the   General  Business   of   the   Union    (in   roubles). 

For  11  months  of  the  last  fiscal  year,  i.  e.  from  October  1st,  1917  to 
September  1st,  1918  the  total  sales  of  the  Union  were  as  follows: 

Roubles 

Butter 73,426.617.09 

Cheese 100.038.43 

Stores  for  butter-making 3,628,818.56 

Goods 

a  from  wholesale  warehouses  of  the  Union  101,633,477.78 

b  Bookstore    28,083.05 

c  direct  from  firms 6,724.24 101,688,285.07 

Foodstuffs,  pork,  lard,  etc 535,389.37 

Union's  own  works : 

Staves,  soap,  rope,  vegetable  oils,  printing  work,  etc. . . .     2,113,705.05 


Total   181,473,833.77 

The  above  statement  shows  the  extent  of  the  Union's  operations  as 
well  as  of  various  branches  of  the  Union's  activity  and  their  character. 

The  needs  of  the  population  in  various  merchandise  is  at  present  ag- 
gravated by  the  shortage  of  goods  and  the  general  dislocation  of  trade  and 

63 


THE   UNION   OF  THE   SIBERIAN   CREAMERY 


therefore  the  greatest  attention  is  given  to  the  supply  of  goods  to  the 
people. 

The  trade  in  butter  and  the  supply  of  stores  to  the  butler  factories  is 
at  present  of  secondary  importance,  owing  to  the  temporary  decline  in 
butter-making  due  to  the  closing  of  foreign  markets,  dislocation  of  trans- 
port, also  the  Government  monopoly  of  butter,  which  has  only  recently 
been  abolished,  with  fall  in  prices  of  this  product,  etc. 

The  Union's  own  manufactories,  though  unostentatious,  are  very  im- 
portant. Their  development  is  now  receiving  the  particular  attention  of 
that  organization,  especially  in  the  presence  of  existing  disorganization  of 
industry,  trade  and  transportation. 

Union's  Own  Works.    At  present  the  Union  of  the  Siberian  Creamery 
and  other  Co-operative  Associations  has  its  own  works  as  follows: 

1.  Soap  making  works  in  the  city  of  Kourgan  in  the  Union's  own 
buildings. 

The  output  of  this  works  is  about  30,000  poods  or  10,000  cwts.  of  soap 
per  year. 

2.  Soap  making  factory  in  the  town  of  Barnaul  in  the  Union's  own 
building,  producing  about  10,000  poods  (3,300  cwts)  of  soap  annually. 

3.  Soap  making  works  in  the  town  of  Semipalatinsk,  in  a  hired  building, 
producing  18,000  poods  or  6,000  cwts  of  soap  annually. 

4.  Stave  making  works,  50  versts  from  Kourgan,  in  its  own  build- 
ing, valued  with  equipment  at  over  Rbls.  1,000,000.  The  works  is  equipped 
with  two  steam  motors  of  100  H.  P.  and  30  H.  P.,  and  is  provided  with 
wood,  necessary  for  stave  making,  sufficient  for  10  years  ahead,  under  an 
agreement  with  the  Government. 

5.  Vegetable  oil  mills  in  the  town  of  Ishim,  in  the  Union  own  build- 
ings, fitted  with  two  hydraulic  presses  and  a  steam  motor  of  15  H.  P. 

6.  Mechanical  works  and  foundry  in  Ishim  in  the  Union's  own  building. 
This  works  specializes  in  casting  and  repairing  parts  for  agricultural 
machinery. 

7.  Rope  making  works  in  Yalutorovsk  in  the  Union's  own  building, 
with  an  output  of  about  Rbls.  200,000. 

8.  Printing  works  in  Kourgan,  with  three  large  printing  machines. 

9.  Printing  works  in  Barnaul,  with  three  large  printing  machines. 

The  Purchase  of  Wool,  Horse-hair,  Bristles,  etc.  To  cater  more  fully 
to  the  intei'ests  of  its  members  the  Union  recently  commenced  to  deal  in 
sheep  wool,  camel  and  horse-haii*,  skins,  hides,  bristles,  furs,  and  flax,  con- 
ducting this  business  all  over  the  district  of  the  Siberian  butter-making  and 
even  in  the  adjacent  steppes  beyond  the  Southern  boundary  of  the  district 
and  also  in  Mongolia.  For  the  purchase  of  raw  materials  an  office  was  opend 
in  Semipalatinsk,  in  charge  of  some  of  the  most  competent  men  in  Russia, 

64 


AND  OTHER  CO-OPERATIVE   ASSOCIATIONS 


and  special  agents  were  appointed  in  certain  trading  centers.  The  erection 
of  a  steam  wool  scouring  establishment  in  the  town  of  Semipalatinsk, 
the  first  of  its  kind  in  Siberia,  a  large  leather  tanning  works  in  Omsk  and  a 
central  warehouse  for  sorting  and  scouring  bristles  and  horse-hair  have 
been  undertaken. 


<r*^^ 


— -        Br*. 


/"Mf^ 


Tannery   of    the    L'niun,    Omsk 

Working  Capital  of  the  Union.  The  working  capital  of  the  Union  of 
the  Siberian  Creamery  Associations  increased  slowly  owing  to  the  policy 
adopted.  This  policy  was  to  arrange  the  business  in  such  a  manner  that 
its  members  should  receive  as  much  as  possible  for  delivered  butter  and 
pay  as  little  as  possible  for  the  purchased  goods.  Following  this  policy, 
the  Union  tried  to  avoid  any  considerable  transfer  to  the  working  capital. 
The  gradual  increase  of  the  Union's  capital  is  shown  in  the  following  table : 


Years 

1908 

1909 

1910 

1911 

1912 

1913 

1914 

1915 

1916 

1917 

1918 

Union's  capi- 
tal in  thou- 
sand roubles 

21 

24 

34 

59 

77 

239 

217 

282 

469 

3000 

4104 

Comparison  of  these  figures  with  the  figures  of  the  Union's  trading 
show  that  the  Union  must  necessarily  transact  a  large  business  with  small 
funds.  This  is  possible  provided  only  the  commercial  side  of  the  business 
is  well  organized  and  also  provided  the  concern  enjoys  confidence  and 
credit. 

65 


AND  OTHER  CO-OPERATIVE   ASSOCIATIONS 

The  Statement  of  Affairs.  The  conditions  of  the  Union's  business  and 
also  its  character,  can  best  be  seen  from  the  statement  of  affairs  of  the 
Union  on  1st  Sept.  1918. 

THE  STATEMENT  OF  AFFAIRS  ON  1ST.  SEPT.,  1918 

Liabilities  Assets 

pi],  "*  .  Rouble? 

1  Cash,  current  accounts, 

1  Working  capital    .  .  .4,104,850.94  securities 16,869,979.32 

o  T5-H  w  0/1Q0  01^0  91        2  Bills  receivable    ....16,253,518.23 

2  Bills  payable 2,4.32,258  21        „  „      j  <-  i  ryor  iaq  co 

3  Sundry  property   ....1,735,108.52 

3  Branches  a^cs  .  .  .  .32,551,813.03        4  Stores,  butter, 

cheese,  merchandise  27,770,686.61' 

4  Creditors 97,471,738.11       5  Branches  accounts   .  .35,714,016.33 

5  Interest 18,614,320.21       6  Debtors   49,786.01 0.45 

7  Trade  expenses   7,045,.571.04 

Total    155,174,980  50  155,174,980.50 

Creditability  of  the  Union.  Conspicuous  among  the  assets  of  the 
Union  is  the  largest  item  "Debtors"— Rbls.  49,786,010.45. 

"The  Union"  being  a  union  of  co-operative  associations  transacts  busi- 
ness exclusively  with  co-operative  associations  and  not  with  individual 
members  of  an  association.  Therefore  the  Union  of  the  Siberian  Creamei*y 
Associations'  debtors  are  butter-making  associations  as  well  as  co-operative 
stores. 

As  on  September  1,  1918,  the  Union  comprised  3795  co-operative  asso- 
ciations, the  average  indebtedness  of  each  association,  to  the  Union  was 
Rbls.  13,000. 

The  whole  indebtedness  is  secured  by  acceptances  of  the  co-operative 
associations.  According  to  the  charters  of  the  associations  which  are 
membei's  of  the  Union  (buttei'-making  associations,  co-operative  stores, 
and  co-operative  store  and  butter-making  associations) ,  the  acceptances  of 
a  butter-making  association  are  secured  not  only  by  the  real  and  movable 
property  and  funds  of  the  association,  but  also  by  the  property  of  its 
members  to  the  extent  of  50%  of  its  value. 

As  to  the  co-operative  store,  and  the  co-operative  store  and  butter- 
making  associations,  whose  indebtedness  to  the  Union,  owing  to  the  char- 
acter of  their  business,  is  larger,  their  acceptances  are  secured  by  the 
property  and  funds  of  the  association,  and  in  addition  to  this,  by  the  prop- 
erty of  its  members,  on  their  mutual  responsibility,  to  the  extent  of  90% 
of  the  value  of  the  property. 

Taking  the  average  number  of  members  in  a  co-operative  association 
as  150  and  the  value  of  each  member's  property  at  Rbls.  4,000  in  gold,  which 
is  at  present  far  below  the  actual  value,  we  find  that  with  1,883  associations 
and  1.912  stoi'es,  which  were  members  of  the  Union  on  the  1st  January 

67 


THE   UNION  OF  THE   SIBERIAN   CREAMERY 


1919,  the  security  of  acceptances  of  the  co-operative  butter-making  associa- 
tions, members  of  the  Union,  reaches  Rbls.  565,900,000  in  gold  and  tiiat  of 
the  co-operative  stores  Rbls.  676,080.000  in  gold.  Thus  the  acceptances, 
drawn  by  the  Union's  Board  on  the  co-operative  associations,  members  of 
the  Union,  in  payment  for  the  goods  and  stores  sold  by  the  Union,  are 
secured  by  the  property  of  its  members  to  the  enormous  amount  of  Rbls. 
1.240,980,000  in  gold. 

Therefore  the  item  "debtors"  for  Rbls.  49,786,010.45  is  only  about 
1/25  of  the  amount  for  which  the  members  of  the  Union  are  good,  and  on 
which  the  Board  of  the  Union  can  safely  draw  bills. 

Two  items  are  worth  mentioning  in  the  Liabilities  column:  "Working 
capital"  of  Rbls.  4,104,850  (the  reason  of  this  small  item  has  already  been 
explained)  and  "Creditors" — that  is  the  indebtedness  of  the  Union  to 
private  banks,  manufacturers  and  wholesale  houses, — which  reaches  Rbls. 
97,471,738.11,  being  23  times  larger  than  the  working  capital. 

This  indicates  the  confidence  which  the  Union  inspires  in  the  trading 
community  after  its  eleven  years'  business  activity.  Besides  private  banks, 
private  firms  and  the  Moscow  People's  bank,  the  Union  enjoyed  the  confi- 
dence of  the  late  Ministry  of  Agriculture. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  war,  the  Stores  Department  of  the  Ministry 
of  Agriculture  alloted  to  the  Union  the  tremendous  task  of  providing  hay, 
butter  and  tallow  for  the  army  and  of  purchasing  oats  for  the  agricultural 
warehouse  of  the  Colonization  Department,  with  which  to  supply  the  army. 
This  task  was  well  carried  out  by  the  Union,  and  during  the  first  year 
8,000,000  poods  of  hay,  700,000  poods  of  butter,  1,500,000  poods  of  oats  and 
a  considerable  amount  of  tallow  were  bought  up  and  delivered. 

The  delivery  of  butter  by  the  Union  was  carried  on  until  quite  recently, 
and  the  Union  more  than  once  received  advance  payments  up  to  Rbls. 
1,000,000  in  gold.  In  the  same  way  the  Union  justified  the  trust  of  the 
State  Bank,  which  at  the  commencement  of  the  war  advanced  to  the  Union 
against  butter  as  security,  about  Rbls.  1,000,000  in  gold,  which  loan 
has  since  been  duly  repaid. 

The  high  credit  of  the  Union  besides  the  above  mentioned  reason — the 
ample  security  provided  by  the  co-operative  associations,  members  cf  the 
Union,  for  their  indebtedness  to  that  organization — is  justified  by  other 
causes. 

For  instance,  the  Union's  liability,  as  per  article  4  of  the  Union's 
charter,  is  secured  not  only  by  all  funds  and  property  of  the  Union,  but 
also  by  liability  of  each  of  the  co-operative  associations,  members  of  the 
Union,  to  the  extent  of  4'^c  of  the  total  funds,  involved  in  the  dealings  of 
the  member  with  the  Union  for  the  preceding  year. 

In  1917,  the  last  year  for  which  the  exact  figures  ai'e  available,  the 
Union  received  from  its  members,  co-operative  associations,  957,312  poods 
of  butter  at  an  average  price  of  Rbls.  49  per  pood,  that  is  to  say  to  the 
total  of  Rbls.  47,000,000,  and  the    Union    sold    to    its    members,  various 

68 


AND  OTHER  CO-OPERATIVE   ASSOCIATIONS 


stores  and  goods    in    connection    with    butter-making    for    the    total    of 
Rbls.  2,049,000,  and  general  merchandise  for  Rbls.  25,633,000. 

Thus  the  total  funds  involved  in  the  transactions  between  the  Union  and 
its  members  reach  about  Rbls.  75,000,000,  (Rbls.  47,000,000  +  Rbls. 
2,049,000  +  Rbls.  25,633,000)  and  therefore  the  liability  of  the  members 
for  the  Union's  debts  and  obligations  reaches  Rbls.  3,000,000. 

For  the  year  1918,  the  complete  figures  for  which  are  not  yet  avail- 
able, the  liability  of  the  Union's  members  will  be  still  larger,  as  only  trans- 
actions of  the  Union  with  the  co-operative  stores,  excluding  dealings  in 
butter  and  foodstuffs,  reach  Rbls.  100,000.000  for  11  months  of  the 
fiscal  year,  which  results  in  the  liability  of  the  members  to  the  extent  of 
Rbls.  4,000,000.  It  is  safe  to  assume  that  in  proportion  to  the  total  funds 
involved  in  the  dealings  of  the  Union  with  its  members  for  1918,  the 
liability  of  the  latter  with  regard  to  the  Union's  liability  will  be  not  less 
than  Rbls.  5,000,000,  which,  together  with  the  value  of  the  Union's  property 
on  the  1st,  September  1918,  Rbls.  1,735,578,  the  funds  of  the  Union— 
Rbls.  4,104,850,  brings  the  total  security  that  the  Union  can  offer  in  regard 
to  the  obligations  of  its  Board,  excluding  the  acceptances  of  the  co-operative 
associations,  to  more  than  Rbls.  10,000,000. 

But  perhaps  the  best  guarantee  is  in  the  organization  of  the  Union 
itself,  which  has  all  the  features  of  a  well  organized  and  fully  controlled 
business  machine. 

The  Union  possesses  a  well  developed  apparatus,  consisting  of  a  Board, 
25  district  branches,  10  agencies  and  several  purchasing  offices. 

In  every  establishment  of  the  Union,  several  hundred  employees  are 
working  under  the  best  possible  conditions. 

The  Central  Board  of  the  Union  directs  the  whole  business,  and  controls 
the  Boards  of  the  district  branches. 

Twenty-five  district  offices  under  the  direction  of  the  elected  chairman 
and  members  of  the  District  Board,  have  charge  of  the  receiving  of  butter, 
of  buying  and  distributing  stores  and  goods.  To  assist  the  district  offices 
there  are  in  some  of  the  busiest  districts,  agencies,  at  present  numbering 
ten. 

Purchasing  offices  are  established  when  necessary  at  the  points  where 
goods  are  purchased.  These  offices  are  in  the  following  towns :  Moscow, 
Samara,  Ekaterinburgh,  Samarkand,  Irkutsk,  Kharbin  and  Vladivostok. 
There  are  also  offices  in  London,  New  York  and  Boston  for  sale  of  butter, 
wool,  horse-hair,  flax,  furs,  bristles,  hides  and  skins  and  for  the  purchase 
of  fully  manufactured  goods. 

This  great  organization  is  manned  on  the  principles  of  election  and  is 
under  an  actual  and  efficient  supervision. 

By-Laws  of  the  Union.  Until  October  25th,  1918  the  Union  acted  by 
virtue  of  by-laws,  approved  in  1908.  Since  then  the  Union  has  grown  so 
much  and  its  business  has  become  so  complicated  that  the  old  by-laws  were 

69 


g 

« 


AND  OTHER  CO-OPERATIVE   ASSOCIATIONS 


found  insufficient  for  the  growing  needs  of  the  business,  and  accordingly 
alterations  were  made  from  time  to  time.  The  resolution  of  the  general 
meeting  held  4— 13th  of  March  1917  was,  that  an  entirely  new  set  of  by- 
laws should  be  compiled,  which  would  be  in  keeping  with  new  times  and 
requirements  of  the  business  as  well  as  with  the  newly  promulgated  state 
law  referring  to  co-operative  movement. 

General  Meeting.  According  to  the  new  by-laws,  the  supreme  power 
in  the  Union  is  vested  in  the  General  Meeting  of  the  representatives,  who 
are  elected  by  district  meetings  from  among  the  members  of  co-operative 
associations  concerned,  at  the  i-ate  of  one  person  for  each  25  associations, 
members  of  the  Union.  The  Union  comprising  on  the  1st  April  1919,  4357 
co-operative  associations,  the  General  meeting  consists  of  174  members. 
In  practice  the  representatives,  elected  to  the  General  meeting,  are  ex- 
clusively peasants-agriculturists  and  Cossacks,  and  therefore  the  Union 
of  the  Siberian  Creamery  Association  is  purely  a  democratic,  peasant  or- 
ganization. The  whole  business  has  been  and  is  conducted  by  representa- 
tives of  the  peasantry  and  Cossacks,  with  only  a  few  exceptions  in  the  case 
of  persons,  who,  not  being  of  the  peasant  class,  have  gained  the  trust  and 
confidence  of  the  peasants-agriculturists  by  their  work  for  the  benefit  of 
the  Union.  This  composition  is  reflected  in  the  whole  activity  of  the 
Union,  which  is  stamped  by  the  cautious  circumspection  and  quiet  busi- 
ness methods  so  peculiar  to  the  Siberian  peasant.  This  is  the  main  reason 
for  the  enormous  growth  and  thriving  of  the  Union. 

The  General  meeting  is  presided  over  by  a  chairman,  elected  by  the 
meeting,  which  guarantees  complete  independence  of  his  opinion  from  the 
Board  of  the  Union. 

Board  of  Directors  of  the  Union.  The  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Union 
and  also  chairmen  of  all  District  Boards  are  elected  by  the  General  Meeting. 
General  Meeting  investigates  the  annual  report  of  the  Union,  the  i-eports  of 
the  District  Boards,  together  with  the  conclusions  of  the  Auditing  Com- 
mittee, approves  the  estimate  of  expenses  and  decides  the  more  important 
matters.  For  investigation  and  decision  on  matters  for  which  the  Board 
of  Directors  of  the  Union  cannot  undertake  the  responsibility  and  which 
at  the  same  time  cannot  await  the  next  General  Meeting  there  is  a  Councih 
consisting  of  members  of  the  Board  of  the  Union,  chairmen  of  the  District 
Boards  and  persons  especially  elected  for  this  purpose,  by  each  district. 

The  Board  of  Directors  of  the  Union  consists  of  10  persons,  elected  by 
the  General  Meeting,  has  its  seat  in  Omsk,  manages  the  whole  business 
of  the  Union  and  directs  and  unifies  the  activities  of  the  District  Boards. 

Management  of  Districts.  All  work  in  connection  with  the  buying  of 
butter  in  the  districts,  distribution  of  goods,  and  instruction  of  butter 
factories  and  co-operative  stores  is  in  charge  of  the  District  Boards.    The 

71 


3 
O 


< 


u 

a 


e 
'5 

3 


AND  OTHER  CO-OPERATIVE  ASSOCIATIONS 


decision  of  all  important  questions  and  election  of  the  members  of  the 
Union's  Board  for  each  district  is  in  the  hands  of  the  district  meetings  of 
representatives  of  all  co-operative  associations  of  the  district.  These  meet- 
ings are  effective  only  when  at  least  one  half  of  the  representatives  cf  the 
whole  district  are  present.  They  are  presided  over  by  a  person  specially 
elected  by  the  meeting  in  order  to  obtain  judgments  that  are  independent 
of  the  District  Board. 

For  decisions  on  matters  of  less  importance,  each  district  has  a  Council 
consisting  of  members  of  the  District  Board  and  not  less  than  1/5  repre- 
sentatives of  all  co-operative  associations  in  the  district.  The  District 
Board  which  conducts  the  affairs  of  the  district  consists  of  a  chairman, 
elected  at  a  General  Meeting  and  members,  elected  at  the  meeting  of  the 
district. 

Auditing  Committee.  An  Auditing  Committee  is  installed  to  check  the 
activities  of  the  District  and  Central  Boards  and  all  establishments  and 
enterprises  of  the  Union.  This  Committee  is  entirely  independent  from 
the  Central  Board  and  also  from  the  District  Boards.  The  chairman  and 
vice-chairman  of  the  Auditing  Committee  are  elected  by  the  General  Meet- 
ing and  the  members  of  the  district  meetings. 

The  Auditing  Committee  is  entitled  to  work  simultaneously  in  several 
places.  This  is  done  by  forming  sub-committees  also  called -Auditing  Com- 
mittees, under  the  leadership  of  one  of  the  vice-chairmen.  This  arrange- 
ment assures  the  success  of  the  Committee's  work,  which  is  very  difficult 
owing  to  the  complex  nature  of  the  Union's  business. 

The  Union  has  a  staff  of  instructors  to  organize  new  co-operative  associa- 
tions and  insti'uct  butter-making  foremen,  managers  and  assistant  man- 
agers of  the  co-operative  stores.  These  instructors  work  under  the  leader- 
ship of  the  Director  of  the  Instructors'  Section  in  each  district.  To  co- 
ordinate the  activities  of  all  instructors  the  Central  Board  of  the  Union  ar- 
ranges annual  conferences  of  Directors  of  Instructors'  Sections  of  all 
districts. 

In  the  organization  of  the  Union,  according  to  the  new  by-laws,  which 
are  now  effective,  two  seemingly  opposite  principles  are  united,  namely,  the 
independence  of  separate  districts  and  the  entirety  of  the  Union.  Each 
district  in  the  Union  is  completely  independent  in  its  affairs.  All  districts 
support  each  other  and  none  of  them  is  able  to  conduct  the  business  to  the 
detriment  of  the  whole  Union.  This  arrangement  gives  freedom  to  the 
creative  abilities  and  initiative  in  the  districts,  at  the  same  time  the  Union 
preserve  all  the  advantages  of  a  powerful  organization  in  the  country 

Other  unions  of  co-opei'ative  associations  in  European  Russia  and 
Siberia  are  founded  on  somewhat  different  principles. 

The  Central  Board  of  the  Union  and  its  Departments.  At  present,  the 
Central  Board  of  the  Union  of  the  Siberian  Creamery  Associationti  is  a 

73 


THE   UNION   OF  THE   SIBERIAN   CREAMERY 


large  establishment  of  ten  elected  members  and  over  200  hired  employees, 
who  execute  most  diversified  work.  There  are  several  departments,  each 
in  charge  of  a  separate  branch  of  the  Union's  business.  Thus  the  Butter 
Department  finds  the  most  profitable  markets  for  butter,  attends  to  trans- 
portation arrangements,  looks  after  the  interests  of  the  trade  and  the 
Union's  members  in  the  Government  institutions,  promotes  improvements 
in  the  technique  of  butter-making,  attends  to  the  coaching  of  foremen 
for  the  butter  factories,  supplies  creameries  and  butter  factories  with 
various  necessary  articles,  cans,  bins,  machines  and  other  ware,  promotes 
improvement  of  the  premises  for  butter  factories,  watches  over  production 
of  butter,  promotes  cheese  making,  etc. 

The  Union  accomplished  great  work  in  trying  to  improve  the  trans- 
portation of  butter  over  railways  during  the  summer  months,  when  butter 
easily  perished  because  of  heat,  urging  increase  in  the  number  of  refrigera- 
tor-cars, better  stocking  of  cars  with  ice  and  the  better  guarding  of  butter- 
conveying-trains  on  the  way. 

The  Goods  Department  aims  at  purchasing  goods  at  the  place  of  their 
origin,  distributing  goods  amongst  the  Union's  offices,  and  arranging  for 
the  delivery  and  transportation  of  same. 

The  Goods  Department  comprises  Transportation,  Bookkeeping, 
Statistics  and  Enquiries.  Purchasing,  and  Tracing  sections,  the  last  named 
for  locating  freight  and  assisting  its  speedy  transportation. 

The  Main  Bookkeeping  section  of  the  Union  has  charge  of  all  accounts 
and  reports  of  the  Union — monthly  and  annually — with  regard  to  the  ad- 
ministration of  the  Union  and  to  the  Government  Institutions,  it  com- 
piles instructions  for  keeping  books  and  accounts,  in  all  establishments  of 
the  Union  and  prepares  the  estimate  of  expenses  for  the  coming  year. 

The  Bookkeeping  Department  has  an  Inspection  section,  which  inspects 
and  instructs  the  District  Boards  regarding  bookkeeping;  a  special  section, 
"Central  Board's  Accounts,"  has  charge  of  all  accounts  and  settlements 
with  branch  offices  and  the  Union's  concerns,  with  other  trading  houses  and 
institutions,  takes  care  of  credit  arrangements  and  accounts  of  the  Cen- 
tral Board  itself. 

The  Secretarial  Department  has  charge  of  all  current  correspondence 
and  filing. 

The  Insurance  Department  attends  to  the  insurance  of  the  property  of 
the  Union's  Board  and  also  separate  co-operative  organizations,  members 
of  the  Union. 

The  Information  Department  advises,  at  regular  intervals,  all  depart- 
ments of  the  Central  Board  as  well  as  the  Districts  Boards,  of  all  important 
happenings  in  the  Union. 

The  Department  of  Economical  Statistics  collects  numerical  data  with 
reference  to  various  sides  of  the  Union's  life,  arranges  it  in  accessible  and 
comprehensible  forms  and  works  out  the  averages  for  guidance.  This 
department  also  periodically  advises  the  Central  Board,  on  the  strength 

74 


AND  OTHER  CO-OPERATIVE   ASSOCIATIONS 


of  the  statistical  data,  of  the  position  of  divers  sides  of  the  Union's  business 
in  all  disti'icts. 

The  Industrial  Department  has  charge  of  all  manufactories  of  the 

Union. 

The  Educational  Department  establishes  schools,  scholarships  for  mem- 
bers' children,  organizes  reading  clubs,  librai'ies,  etc. 

The  Agricultural  Department  disseminates  agricultural  instruction 
among  the  members  of  the  Union,  mainly  with  regard  to  stock  raising, 
which  has  the  closest  relationship  to  the  main  business  of  the  Union,  that 
of  butter-making. 

The  Union  opened  a  school  of  accounting  and  instruction  in  merchan- 
dise in  Kourgan,  established  many  scholarships  in  various  schools,  has  two 
publications  "Narodnaia  Gazeta"  ("People's  newspaper")  in  Kourgan 
and  "Krestianin — Sibiriak"  ("Siberian  Peasant")  in  Barnaul,  publishes 
in  Boston  a  bi-monthly  "Review  of  Foreign  Markets"  in  Russian,  pub- 
lishes books,  organizes  libraries,  opened  a  Museum  of  Applied  Science  in 
Omsk,  etc. 

According  to  the  new  by-laws  the  Union  is  entitled  to  receive  money 
on  deposit  from  its  members  and  pay  interest  thereon.  For  the  members 
of  the  Union  this  is  a  convenient  and  profitable  placement  of  their  savings 
and  for  the  Union  it  is  a  means  of  increasing  the  working  capita,  and 
facilitating  transactions. 

The  Siberian  Agricultural  Bank.  Large  financial  operations  of  the 
Union,  particularly  in  connection  with  savings,  deposited  with  the  Union 
not  only  by  the  members  of  the  Union,  but  also  by  outsiders,  also  the  fast 
growing  export  of  agricultural  products  to  America  and  Europe — all  this 
brought  the  Union  to  the  realization  of  the  necessity  to  establish  their  own 
bank.  The  organization  of  such  a  bank  under  the  name  of  ''The  Siberian 
Agricultural  Bank"  has  been  completed  and  the  bank  will  soon  commence 
its  operations.  This  bank  will  have  its  Board  in  Omsk,  branches  in  Novo- 
Nikolaevsk,  Barnaul,  Semipalatinsk  and  Kourgan  and  agencies  attached  to 
the  majority  of  District  offices  of  the  Union  of  the  Siberian  Creamery  and 
other  Co-operative  Associations. 

Summary.    It  follows  from  the  above  that : 

1.  The  Union  of  the  Siberian  Creamery  Associations  aims  to  satisfy 
the  most  pressing  daily  needs  of  the  population  of  a  large  country. 

2.  About  42%  of  the  whole  peasant  and  cossack  population  of  the 
Eastern  Urals  foreland,  of  Western  Siberia  and  of  the  Steppe  region  avail 
themselves  of  the  Union's  services  and  are  interested  in  the  Union's 
success. 

3.  The  activity  of  the  Union  is  highly  appreciated  by  the  population, 
as  is  proved  by  the  rapid  and  continuous  growth  of  the  Union. 

4.  The  activity  of  the  Union  is  highly  appreciated  by  the  Government, 
which  has  often  entrusted  large  and  responsible  tasks  to  this  organization. 

75 


THE  UNION  OF  THE   SIBERIAN  CREAMERY 


This  year  (1919)  the  Union  supplied  the  Government  with  1,800,000  poods 
of  butter. 

5.  At  present  the  Union  of  the  Siberian  Creamery  Associations  is  one 
of  the  largest  co-operative  organizations  in  Russia. 

6.  The  credit  of  the  Union  rests  on  broad  and  firm  foundations  and  is 
absolutely  unquestionable. 

7.  Owing  to  its  organization,  the  Union  is  capable  of  the  broadest  de- 
velopment of  its  business,  while  the  size  and  wealth  of  the  territory  where 
the  Union  works,  present  all  facilities  for  such  development. 

8.  The  proper  conduct  of  the  Union's  business  is  guaranteed  by  the 
broad  and  consistent  application  of  the  elective  principle  and  by  the  high 
standing  of  the  auditing  and  controlling  apparatus  of  the  Union  of  the 
Siberian  Creamery  and  other  Co-operative  Associations. 


76 


Union  of  the  Siberian  Creamery 

AND  OTHER 

Co-Operative  Associations 


Head  Office:  Omsk,  Western  Siberia 


President 
A.  A.  BALACKSHIN 

Vice-Presidents 

J.  W.  MAIOROFF 

W.  J.  ILJICHENKO 


Head  Office  for  Abroad 

113  Lincoln  Street  General  Manager  for  Abroad 

Boston,  Mass.,  U.  S.  A.  J.  K.  OKULITCH,  Gr.  Agr.  Eng. 


Offices: 

113  Lincoln  St.,  Boston,  Mass.,  U.  S.  A. 
B.  V.  KARASIN,  Gr.  Civ.  Eng.,  Manager 

280  Broadway,  New  York  City,  U.  S.  A. 
V.  N.  BASHKIROFF,  Manager 

59  Eastcheap,  London,  E.  C.  3.  England 
A.  N.  CHMUTIN,  Gr.  Mech.  Eng.,  Manager 


AND  OTHER  CO-OPERA IIVE  ASSOCIATIONS 


CONTENTS 


Preface  ....... 

Index   of   Charts      ...... 

Table  of  Measures  ..... 

Organization  ...... 

The  Siberian  Butter-Mal<ing  District 

The  Boundaries  of  the  Butter-Making  District 

Administrative  Composition  of  the  Butter-Malcing  District 

The  Dimensions  of  the  Distrct  of  Siberian  Butter-Making 

Configuration  of  the  Land 

Geological   Aspect  of  the   District 

Mineral    Wealth 

Mineral  Waters 

Soils 

Climate 

Amount  of  Precipitation 

Irrigation 

Rivers 

Lakes    .... 

Vegetation 

Animals 

The  Natural  Wealth  of  the  District 

Insufficient  Development  of   Natural   Resources 

Population 

Density   of    Population 

Distribution  of  Population 

Possibilities  for  Future  Growth  of   Population 

Ethnographic  Composition  of  the  District 

Kirghyz  ...... 

Bashkirs  ...... 

The  Altai  Tribes  and  Tartars  . 
Russians  .... 

Emigrants       ...... 

Cossacks  ...... 

Moans  of  Communication 

Navigable   Rivers    ..... 

The  Northern  Route         .... 

Railroads  ...... 

Unmade    Roads        ..... 

Main  Occupation  of  the  Population 
Cultivated    Area      ..... 

Plants   Cultivated    ..... 

The  Methods  of  Agriculture    . 

Obstacles  to  Improve  Methods  of  Agriculture 

Communal   Land   Ownership    . 

Measures  to  Improve  the  Technique  of  Agriculture 

Fertility 

Causes   Affecting  the   Crops    . 
Quantities  of  Agricultural  Products 

78 


PA<;| 

5 

C 

6 

7 

7 

7 

8 

9 

9 

9 

11 

12 

12 

14 

15 

16 

16 

17 

19 

22 

25 

25 

25 

25 

26 

26 

27 

27 

27 

27 

27 

31 

31 

32 

32 

33 

33 

34 

34 

34 

35 

35 

37 

37 

37 

37 

38 

38 


THE  UNION  OF  THE   SIBERIAN  CREAMERY 


Export   of   Agricultural    Products    . 

Stock  Raising  ..... 

Unfavorable  Conditions  for  Stock  Raising 

The  Kirghyz  Method  of   Stock  Raising    . 

Russian    Stock   Raising    .... 

Siberian    Livestock  .... 

Sheep  Breeding  and  its  Future 

Stock  Raising  in  Figures 

Measures  to   Improve   Stock   Raising 

Export  of  Products  of  Stock  Raising 

Export  of  Hides,  Wool,  Hair  and  Bristles 

Mining    Industry     . 

Manufacturing  Industry 

Domestic  Industries 

Milling  Industry 

Distilling  and  Brewing    . 

Butter-Making 

Manufacture  of  Melted  Butter   previous   to   the   Construction 

Siberian   Railway  .... 

First  Experiments  in  Making  Cream  Butter   . 

Butter-Making  and  the  Railway 

Siberian  Butter        ...... 

Growth   of  Butter-Making        .... 

Organization  of  Butter-Making  by  Private  Persons 
Faults  of  the  New  Business     .... 

Government's  Attitude  Towards   Butter-Making 
A.  N.  Balakshin       ...... 

The  Attempt  to  Eliminate  Foreign  Exporters  . 

Special  Organization  to  Introduce  the  Co-operative  Principles 

Butter-Making   Trade        .... 
Results  of  the  Organization's  Work 
Unionization  of  Co-operative  Butter  Factories 
Founders'  First  Meeting  .... 

Aims  of  the  Union  ..... 

Peculiarities  of  the  Union's  Charter 
Speedy  Growth  of  the  Union   .... 
Increasing  Number  of  Co-operative  Associations  in  the  Union 
Increase  in  the  Number  of  Branches 
The    Wholesale    Stores    .... 
Amount  of  Butter  Received  by  the  Union 
Sale  of  Butter  Abroad    . 
Sale  of  Butter  During  the  War 
Stores  for  Butter-Making 
Stave  Making  Works 
Trading  .... 

Total    Sales     .... 
Union's  Own  Works 

The  Purchase  of  Wool,  Horse  Hair,  Bristles,  etc 
Working  Capital  of  the  Union 
The  Statement  of  Affairs 
Creditability  of  the  Union 
By-Laws  of  the  Union    . 
General   Meeting 


of  the 


in  the 


PACE 

38 
39 

41 
41 
41 
42 
42 
43 
4.5 
4.5 
46 
46 
46 
47 
47 
47 
47 

48 
48 
49 
49 
49 
50 
50 
51 
51 
53 

53 
54 
54 
55 
55 
55 
56 
56 
57 
58 
58 
59 
60 
61 
62 
62 
63 
64 
64 
65 
67 
67 
69 
71 


79 


AND  OTHER  CO-OPERATIVE   ASSOCIATIONS 


Board  of  Directors  of  the  Union       .... 

Management  of  Districts  .... 

Auditing  Committee  ...... 

The  Central  Board  of  the  Union  and  Its  Departments 
The  Siberian  Agricultural  Bank       .... 

Summary         ........ 


PAGE 

71 
71 
73 
73 
75 
75 


INDEX  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

Officers  of  the  Union       ...... 

Mountain  Belukha,  Altai  .         . 

Rocks  on  Lake  Borovoe  ..... 

Lake  Moultinskoe,   Central   Altai      .... 

Horse  of  Altai  Tribe       ...... 

Village  Kamen,  Populated  by  the  "Old  Timers,"  in  the  Government 
of    Tomsk  ....... 

River  Obi  near  town  of  Barnaul       .... 

Creamery  of   the    Souskanikhin    Co-operative   Association    (Govern 

ment  of  Altai)   member  of  the  Union 
Liubinsky  Prospect  in  Omsk   ..... 

Creamery  of  the  Staro-Barda  Co-operative  Association  (Government 
of  Altai)   member  of  the  Union 

Petropavlovsk,   Government  of   Akmolinsk 

Semipalatinsk  ....... 

Central  Dairying  Laboratory  in  Tomsk   . 

A.  N.  Balakshin,  Founder  of  the  Union   . 

Diagram  No.  1 — Growth  of  Creamery  Associations  in  the  Union 

Diagram  No.  2 — Growth  of  Distributing  Stores  of  the  Union   . 

Diagram  No.  3 — Receipts  of  Butter  by  the  Union     . 

Diagram  No.  4 — Sales  of  Supplies  by  the  Union 

Diagram  No.  5 — Goods  sold  by  the  Union       .... 

Diagram  No.  6 — Growth  of  the  General  Business  of  the  Union  . 

Tannery  of  the  Union,  Omsk  ....... 

Class  of  Accounting  Organized  by  the  Union  of  the  Siberian  Creamery 
Associations  in  Kourgan  ..... 

Members  of  the  General  Meeting  of  the  Union,  1918,  Kourgan 

Convention  of  the  Instructors  in    Dairying    of    the    Union    of    the 
Siberian   Creamery   Associations — Kourgan        .  .         .         . 


2 
10 
18 
18 
28 

30 
32 

34 
36 

39 
44 
40 
51 
52 
56 
57 
59 
62 
62 
63 
65 

66 
70 

72 


80 


I 


■  t 

■■  I 


■3 

s 

i 

3 

3 

u 

•c 

< 

a  0 

D 

.Sum 
fe  E  c 

?  "  i 

0  5  s 


V 


PrinUdbyY.Souren  Co.,N.Y.  U.S.A 


Publishcil  by  *ho  Uaion  of  (he  Siberian    CreamcTy  At«>ci«ioai 


>'"  06/5, 


RETURN  TO  the  circulation  desl<  of  any 
University  of  California  Library 
or  to  the 
NORTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 
BIdg,  400,  Richmond  Field  Station 
University  of  California 
Richmond,  CA  94804-4698 

ALL  BOOKS  MAY  BE  RECALLED  AFTER  7  DAYS 

•  2-month  loans  may  be  renewed  by  calling 
(510)642-6753 

•  1-year  loans  may  be  recharged  by  bringing 
books  to  NRLF 

•  Renev^als  and  recharges  may  be  made  4 
days  prior  to  due  date. 

DUE  AS  STAMPED  BELOW 

JAN  0  5  2006 


12,000(11/95) 


>""  06/5, 


RETURN  TO  the  circulation  desk  of  any 
University  of  California  Library 
or  to  the 
NORTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 
BIdg.  400,  Richmond  Field  Station 
University  of  California 
Richmond,  CA  94804-4698 

ALL  BOOKS  MAY  BE  RECALLED  AFTER  7  DAYS 

•  2-month  loans  may  be  renewed  by  calling 
(510)642-6753 

•  1-year  loans  may  be  recharged  by  bringing 
books  to  NRLF 

•  Renevvals  and  recharges  may  be  made  4 
days  prior  to  due  date, 

DUE  AS  STAMPED  BELOW 

JAN  0  5  2006 


12.000(11/95) 


/ 


lijim 


